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In Britain, we best know St Andrew as the patron saint of Scotland but he is actually celebrated in many countries around the world.

They all have their own way of marking their connection with the Galilean fisherman who, according to the Christian Bible, became Jesus’ first apostle.

Join ���˿��� Bitesize as we discover how communities in Romania, Tenerife, Barbados and Greece celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

Why is St Andrew celebrated outside of Scotland?

Patron saints appear to be great multi-taskers as many of them are connected to a number of different countries or cities.

Thought to have been born between 5AD and 10AD in Galilee, St Andrew would not have made it to Scotland during his lifetime. However, he is believed to have visited some of the other places that also celebrate him, and each has a different story describing their links with the apostle.

Garlic with everything in Romania

Garlic has a big part to play in Romania’s celebrations of St Andrew. Local legends say that evil spirits of the dead are on the prowl on the evening of 29 November, so people rub the pungent root vegetable on the doors and windows of their homes and stables, and eat dishes featuring garlic, to ward the spirits away.

In another tradition, known as the Guarding of the Garlic, girls each place three bulbs inside a vase, which is guarded by an old woman while the young people eat, dance and party until morning.

On the same night, wheat seeds are often planted in a pot, which is kept indoors to germinate. On New Year’s Eve, it is studied to see how well the following year’s crops will grow.

Although St Andrew was named patron saint of Romania fairly recently, in 1997, and 30 November only became a public holiday in 2012, his influence there dates much further back.

Many Romanian Orthodox Christians believe he brought Christianity to the country in the 1st century AD, although this has been contested by some historians. On St Andrew's Day every year, thousands of pilgrims from Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine gather at a monastery near a cave by the Black Sea port of Constanta where the saint is said to have lived.

If the fisherman was busy converting people 1,500 miles away, then how did he become the Patron Saint of Scotland? One medieval theory was that the early Scots were descended from ancient Scythians from Romania and Bulgaria, who had already converted to Christianity before making the journey to their new home, but this has not been proven.

Tenerife gets very noisy

Imagine the sound of hundreds of tin cans being dragged along the streets of Puerto de la Cruz as Tenerife marks St Andrew’s - or San Andrés - Day. If that doesn’t sound noisy enough then you could head to Plaza del Charco, a square where people gather to throw discarded objects that clatter against the ground.

Over in Icod de los Vinos, on 29 and 30 November, daredevils slide down the famously steep street of Calle del Plano on wooden boards in a tradition that dates back to the days when wood had to be brought to the town from places higher up.

St Andrews Day is also when the island’s new wines are tasted for the first time in a ritual that takes place in towns and villages across Portugal.

Barbados marks its independence

In Barbados, where St Andrew is also the patron saint, 30 November is the nation’s Independence Day, celebrating the end of over 300 years of British rule. A grand military parade is held, and landmarks including the Parliament Buildings, Independence Square and the Independence Arch are illuminated in the national colours of blue and yellow.

Thousands of Scots travelled to Barbados during the second half of the 18th century to work in the British colony. Some helped to run the plantations that enslaved people worked on, while others were transported to Barbados as punishment for crimes and were forced to work there for the length of their sentence. Some wealthy Scots were 'absentee' owners of plantations, which means they ran them at a distance.

Despite their origins, the country’s Scottish connections continue to be important there - its coat of arms shows a pair of crossed sugar canes as a reference to the saltire, the X-shaped cross that St Andrew was martyred on, and in 2020 Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc commissioned a Glasgow-based kiltmaker to create an official blue, yellow and black tartan to mark its independence.

St Andrew’s skull is carried through the streets in Patras

Parts of St Andrew’s relics - or physical remains - and pieces of wood believed to have been from the cross he died on are kept in the cathedral in Patras, the Greek city where he was crucified in 60AD. Every year on 29 November, Greek Orthodox worshippers from across the country gather for a service that venerates these objects and marks the beginning of an all-night vigil.

On St Andrew’s Day itself, there is a second service, attended by senior church leaders, followed by a procession with his skull through the city centre streets.

This article was published in November 2024