Saint Andrew’s Day (November 30) is the feast day of Saint Andrew and Scotland’s official national day. Since 2015, it is also a national holiday in Romania. According to the New Testament, Saint Andrew was the disciple who introduced his brother, the Apostle Peter, to Jesus. Andrew is credited with spreading the gospel to Romania, Greece and Russia, and he was crucified in 60AD in Patras (Greece) for having baptised the wife and brother of the Governor, Aegeus. Today, he is the patron saint not only of Scotland and Romania but also of Cyprus, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, San Andres Island (Colombia), Saint Andrew (Barbados), and Tenerife.
Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland in the early Middle Ages. Legend has it that a 4th century monk called Regulus (St. Rule) brought his relics from Constantinople to the place where the modern town of St Andrews stands today. According to the University of St Andrews, however, the saint’s relics were brought there in 733 by Bishop Acca of Hexham, a former abbot of St Andrews, where a religious centre had been founded either by St Rule or by Oengus, an 8th century Pictish king. Saint Andrew’s relics now reside at St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh, in a national shrine.
The celebration of Saint Andrew’s Day as a national Scottish festival is thought to originate from the reign of Malcolm III (1034–1093). It is thought that the ritual slaughter of animals associated with Samhain (the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter) was moved to this date, so as to assure that enough animals were kept alive for the winter months. But it was only in 2006 that the Scottish Parliament passed an Act designating the day as an official bank holiday. (If November 30 falls on a weekend, the next Monday is a bank holiday instead.) In Scotland and countries with Scottish connections, Saint Andrew’s Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music and dance. The day is also seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing Saint Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay (= New Year’s Eve) and Burns Night (January 25, the poet’s birthday). There are week-long celebrations in the town of St Andrews and in some other Scottish cities, beginning on November 30. The University of St Andrews traditionally gives the day for all the students as a free holiday.
Tasks and Book
Task 1: Nominate someone for sainthood. Who? Why?
Task 2: St Andrew is revered in many countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, where he worked as a Christian missionary, long before his relics were brought to Scotland centuries later. – Tell us: Is there a book (regardless whether fiction or nonfiction) for which you would basically walk up to strangers and tell them: “Read this!”? What would you say and do to get people to read that particular book?
Task 3: Legend has it that the saltire or St. Andrew’s cross (white on an azure background) – which constitutes the national flag of Scotland – originated as a cloud formation, symbolizing St. Andrew’s being crucified on an X-shaped cross rather than an upright one. Do you have any pictures of unusual cloud formations? If so, share them with us!
Task 4: The town of St. Andrews, where the saint’s bones ended up in the course of the spread of Christianity to Scotland, is also famous for its golf course and tournament. List your 3 favorite books where golf is key to the plot.
Book: Andrew was the first apostle; read the first book in a series. OR: Andrew and Peter were brothers; read a book about brothers. OR: Read books about or set in Scotland or by a Scottish author, or set in Charleston, South Carolina (which is where the celebrations as we know them today began – by a group of Scottish expats – according to scotland.org).
(Click “Read More” for the previous days’ tasks and books.)
Previous Doors’ Tasks and Books
Door 11: Russian Mother’s Day
Task 1: Tell us: What is the mother of all writerly sins in your book (tropes, grammar mistakes, telling instead of showing, etc.)?
Task 2: Do you have a favorite Mothers’ Day memory that you are happy to share? Photos welcome but optional.
Task 3: Perhaps the best-known scene in the James Bond novel and film From Russia With Love is 007 being poisoned by Russian agent Rosa Klebb with a venom-laced blade hidden in her shoe. Tell us: Have you ever owned any particular / outrageous / funny / best-beloved or otherwise special pair of shoes? Post a photo if you should still own them.
Task 4: Make a traditional Russian dish like borscht, blintzes, pirogi or solyanka soup, and share a picture with us. Find recipe suggestions here: https://www.expatica.com/ru/about/Top-10-Russian-foods-and-recipes_108678.html
Book: Read a book set in Russia, or involving a story within a story / play within a play (like the Russian matryoshka dolls stuck inside each other), or where a key character (not necessarily the protagonist) is a mother.
Door 10: Bon om Touk
Task 1: Make a paper boat and post a picture of it. Instructions, if needed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiAWx8odStA
Task 2: If you’ve ever attended a procession or an event involving festively decked out boats, post a picture and tell us about it.
Task 3: Bon Om Touk celebrates the end of the rainy season. Tell us: What’s your favorite type of rainy day book – and do you have a favorite drink or snack to go with your rainy day reading? Photos welcome!
Task 4: Which are your 3 favorite books where a key character is “moonlighting”?
Book: Read a book that takes place at sea or on a river OR with water on the cover OR where the plot involves a festival or the moon plays a pivotal role in the plot.
Door 9: Thanksgiving
Task 1: List the 3 books you’ve read this year you’re most “thankful” for (your favs) or the one book you’ve ever read that changed your life for the better.
Task 2: Describe your perfect meal. What would you cook for the perfect celebration, or, what would you have your imaginary personal chef cook for you?
Task 3: Name a book you’ve read this year that you thought was full of “stuffing”.
Task 4: Show us your 2018 book “harvest” – the books you newly acquired this year, regardless whether bought, received as gift or in whichever other way.
Book: Autumnal covers, set in New England, or a turkey shows up in the story.
Door 8: Penance Day
Task 1: “Confess” your book habits. Dog-earring? Laying books face down? Bending back the spines? Skimming? OR: Confess your guilty reading pleasure, or comfort reads.
Task 2: It’s “Pennants” day according to MbD’s husband: post a picture of your favorite team’s logo / mascot and the last time they’ve won a championship (or not).
Task 3: In centuries gone by, penance would often end up in what might be described as a very extended bad hair day (complete with sackcloth and ashes). Tell us: What’s a bad hair day to you – and what (if anything) do you do about it?
Task 4: Early Christian spiritualists would sometimes do penance by spending time in the desert. If you’ve ever visited a desert region (or even live there), post a picture and tell us about it. Alternatively, post a picture of sand dunes (NOT with water in the background!).
Book: Read any book concerning a man / woman of the cloth, a book about a character hiding a guilty secret or searching for absolution.
Door 7: Mawlid
Task 1: Make two “prophesies” you think will come to fruition in 2019 in your personal or reading life.
Task 2: The Five Pillars of Islam include almsgiving and the pilgrimage to Mekka. Tell us: Have you ever donated books or rescued them from (horror of horrors) being trashed? Alternatively: Is there a book-related place that is a place of pilgrimage to you?
Task 3: Prophets are messengers. Tell us: Which book characters are your favorite messengers (no matter whether humans, angels, (demi)gods, etc.)?
Task 4: Muhammad was a merchant before becoming a religious leader. List 5 books on your shelves in which a key character makes / undergoes a radical career change.
Book: If you can find a copy, read Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. Or read any book about a leader of a movement, nation, religion or large group, OR read a book with a green cover OR with a half moon on the cover.
Door 6: International Day for Tolerance
Task 1: Find some redeeming quality in the book you liked least this year and post about it.
Task 2: Tell us: What are the tropes (up to 5) that you are not willing to live with in any book (i.e., which are absolutely beyond your capacity for tolerance) and which make that book an automatic DNF for you? (Insta-love? Love triangles? First person present narrative voice? Talking animals? The dog dies? What else?)
Task 3: The International Day for Tolerance is a holiday declared by an international organization (UNESCO). Create a charter (humorous, serious, whatever strikes your fancy) for an international organization of readers.
Task 4: UNESCO is based in Paris. Paris is known for its pastries and its breads: Either find a baker that specializes in pastries and bring home an assortment for your family, or make your own pastries using real butter and share a photo with us.
Book: Read any fiction/non-fiction about tolerance or a book that’s outside your normal comfort zone. (Tolerance can encompass anything you generally struggle with, be it sentient or not.) OR Read a book set in Paris.
Door 5: Veterans’ / Armistice Day
Task 1: Using book covers (real or virtual), create a close approximation of your country’s flag (either of residence or birth), OR a close approximation of a poppy. Take a pic of your efforts and post.
Task 2: Make an offer of peace (letter, gift, whatever) to a book character who has particularly annoyed you this year.
Task 3: Tell us: What author’s books would you consider yourself a veteran of (i.e., by which author have you read particularly many books – or maybe even all of them)?
Task 4: Treat yourself to a slice of seedcake and post a photo. If you want to make it yourself, try out this recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/poppy-seed-cake/ … or this one: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1629633/lemon-and-poppy-seed-cake
Book: Read any book involving wars, battles, where characters are active military or veterans, or with poppies on the cover.
Door 4: Diwali
Task 1: Share a picture of your favorite light display.
Task 2: Cleaning is a big part of this holiday; choose one of your shelves, real or virtual, and tidy / organise it. Give us the before and after photos. OR Tidy up 5 of the books on your BookLikes shelves by adding the CORRECT cover, and/or any other missing information. (If in doubt, see here: http://jenn.booklikes.com/post/1782687/state-of-the-database-booklikes-database-halloween-bingo-and-a-mini-rant-with-pictures).
Task 3: Eating sweets is also a big part of Diwali. Either select a recipe for a traditional sweet, or make a family favorite and share a picture with us.
Task 4: During Diwali, people pray to the goddess Lakhshmi, who is typically depicted as a beautiful young woman holding a lotus flower. Find 5 books on your shelves (either physical or virtual) whose covers show a young woman holding a flower and share their cover images.
Book: Read a book with candles on the cover or the word “candle” or “light” in the title; OR a book that is the latest in a series; OR set in India; OR any non-fiction book that is ‘illuminating’ (Diwali is Sanskrit for light/knowledge and row, line or series)
Door 3: Melbourne Cup Day
Task 1: Pick your ponies! MbD has posted the horses scheduled to race; everyone picks the three they think will finish (in any order).
Task 2: Cup day is all about the hats. Post a picture of your favorite hat, whether it’s one you own or not.
Task 3: The coloring of the “horse of a different color” in the movie version of The Wizard of Oz was created by rubbing the horse’s fur with jello. What’s the weirdest use of jello you’ve ever come across?
Task 4: Have you ever been to or participated in a competition involving horses (racing, jumping, dressage, whatever)? Tell us about it. Photos welcome, too!
Book: About horses or a horse on the cover. Books with roses on the cover or about gardening; anything set in Australia.
Door 2: Guy Fawkes Night
Task 1: Burn a book in effigy. Not that anyone of us would do such a thing, but if you HAD to, which book would be the one you’d sacrifice to the flames (gleefully or not)?
Task 2: List your top 3 treasonous crimes against books. Not ones you’ve committed, but the ones you think are the worst.
Task 3: Share your favorite / most memorable BBQ recollections or recipe, or your favorite recipe of food “flambé” (i.e., doused with alcohol which is then set aflame and allowed to burn off).
Task 4: Find 5 uses of the word “gunpowder” in book titles in contexts other than for blowing up things or shooting people (e.g., Gunpowder Green by Laura Childs = tea).
Book: Set in the UK, political thrillers, involving any monarchy or revolution; books about arson or related to burning.
Door 1: Día de Los Muertos
Task 1: Write a silly poem or limerick poking fun at the fiction character of your choice.
Task 2: Share your favorite gravestone epitaph (you know you have one).
Task 3: Create an altar (either digital or physical) for your favorite book, series, or book character, and post a picture of it. Inclusion of book cover encouraged.
Task 4: If you like Mexican food, treat yourself to your favorite dish and share a photo of it.
Book: Re-read an old favorite from a now-deceased author, a book from a finished (dead) series, or a book set in Mexico.
Original post: ThemisAthena.booklikes.com/post/1809677/24-festive-tasks-door-12-saint-andrew-s-day
