As everyone will be aware, today is St Andrew’s Day.

This is the ideal time to celebrate all that is great about Scotland – our people and history as well as our traditional and contemporary culture.

Events to celebrate our national day are taking place across the country as part of Scotland’s Winter Festivals, with many of our top visitor attractions once again opening for free. People around the world are also joining in the festivities with St Andrew’s Day events in Doha, Beijing and Hawaii. 

Many St Andrew’s Day activities involve dance a key part of Scotland’s cultural identity. We want to Get Scotland Dancing to help get the nation fit for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and what better way to celebrate our national day than with a traditional ceilidh? 

Our children and young people also deserve to hear more about our national day and its history. Thousands of schoolchildren across the country took part in our competition to design a poster for St Andrew’s Day.

The lucky winners from Dundee, Dumfries and Stirling had their work exhibited in the Scottish Parliament over the weekend alongside the runners-up and credit is due to every school and pupil that entered. The competition clearly captured the imagination of schools across the country.

The Scottish Government is also leading by example by declaring a public holiday to mark the occasion. 

I am delighted to see that four education authorities – Renfrewshire, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, and Scottish Borders – have decided to arrange a school holiday around the day and I hope that more will follow in future years.

Today is a day for Scottish pride and I’d like to wish everyone a happy St Andrew’s Day!

Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs