27 December 2019
Making the Most of St Andrew’s Day
Nearly every country in the world celebrates a national day, usually on or around the anniversary of their country’s independence or to remember a unification or revolution. In the UK our national days are linked to feast days - England marks St George’s Day on 23rd April, Wales celebrate St David’s Day on 1st March, in Ireland St Patrick’s Day falls on 17th March and here in our national day, St Andrew’s Day, fell a few weeks ago on the 30th November. So how do we, as Scots, mark the day. 56 Degree Insight and AudienceNet partnered to undertake some research amongst a representative sample of 1,000 Scots adults between 3rd and 9th December 2019 – the week after the most recent St Andrew’s Day. Here’s what we found…..
A chance to eat, drink and spend time together?
Around 1 in 5 Scots did something to celebrate the day and for most of this group the feast day was celebrated appropriately by enjoying good food and drink, most often at home with family or friends. This is reminiscent of how Americans celebrate their national Thanksgiving holiday (which fell on 28th November this year). On this day most American families get together, celebrate and typically enjoy a lot of good food and drink. A 2018 survey showed that 76% of Americans believe that it is important to celebrate the day, on average spending around $175 each on the dinner, travel and other expenses! Does this suggest St Andrew’s Day could offer a similar social and economic opportunity.
Our research showed that those who celebrated St. Andrews Day, were significantly more likely to:
Consider themselves a foodie
Like trying new food ingredients or new recipes
Consider themselves knowledgeable about ingredients
Enjoy cooking for themselves and others
Enjoy shopping for food and recipe ingredients
Imagine the potential if St Andrews day became a day focussing on being kind and helpful, re-connecting with friends and family (even if just a phone call) and culminating in a special meal – a celebration of Scottish food and drink.
Back in Scotland, other ways of celebrating the day included attending an event, going out for a meal or a drink, having a party or taking a day off work (since 2006, the day has been designated as an official bank holiday so some, but not all workplaces and schools close for a day). A number of other ways to mark the day were also reported to us - ranging from going to church, to visiting a historic property or wearing tartan.
Or is St Andrew’s Day a bit of a damp squib?
However, a much larger proportion of us (79%) did nothing special on St Andrew’s Day. While most are aware of the day, many aren’t in the habit of marking the occasion, aren’t interested or just aren’t sure on how to mark the occasion.
The dark nights, wet weather and forthcoming election may not be the best backdrop for a celebration and many of us may be saving time, energy and money for the forthcoming Christmas and Hogmanay holiday season.
But is there an opportunity for more of us to treat the day as an opportunity to spend time with friends and family, get cosy indoors and enjoy some good food and company?
150,000 kind acts
This year the Scottish Government ran a campaign promoting St Andrew’s Day as a way to celebrate kindness and fairness by carrying out a kind gesture. The campaign, which is part of the government’s One Scotland initiative which promotes inclusive society and equality, was promoted online using the hashtag #onekindact.
Our survey found that 16% of the Scottish population were aware of the campaign and of this total most responded positively:
66% did something as result of seeing the campaign
36% shared the sentiment on social media
23% spoke to someone about it
22% planned or carried out a kind gesture – equating to around 150,000 kind acts!
The most common acts of kindness included people making a special effort to help or check in with a vulnerable neighbour or elderly person, donating some of their time or money to charity, buying something for a stranger and taking time out with relatives.
Some examples of the kind acts that our survey participants told us about included:
“I helped organise a wee shopping trip for some housebound folk.” Male, Aged 63, Edinburgh
“I had lunch with my grandparents who live across the country.” Male, Aged 18, Glasgow
“I paid for a young mother’s child’s nappies as she didn’t have enough money at the checkout.” Woman, Aged 56, West Dunbartonshire
“I bought coffee and sandwich for a couple of homeless people that I passed on the street.” Woman, Aged 57, Aberdeen”
“I took my daughter to the local charity shop to volunteer an hour of our time helping out in the shop.” Woman, Aged 47, Perth
“I trimmed my older neighbour’s hedge down.” Man, Aged 47, Glasgow
The campaign has reached a wide range of people and it is encouraging to see how so many of those people who heard about it went on to talk about it to their friends and relatives in person or online or carried out a kind act.
Can we make more of the day?
After weeks of election campaigning and years of Brexit ‘debate’, the divisions and inequalities in our society feel more apparent than ever before.
