St Andrew's Day 2023: Today's Google Doodle celebrates the patron saint of Scotland

If you go onto Google.com today, you will see the search engine is using their Google Doodles to celebrate St Andrew's Day 2023.

Today's Google Doodle. Cr. Google.

One of the number one day's in the Scottish calendar, search engine Google is helping to celebrate St Andrew's Day with their own Scottish themed Google Doodle.

Thursday 30 November celebrates St Andrews Day and been recognised with a special Google Doodle that is sure to bring a smile to you all this morning/afternoon.

Also called ‘the Feast of Saint Andrew’ or sometimes ‘Andermas’, St Andrew’s Day is Scotland’s official national day which falls on the same date every single year as Scots celebrate our country.

St Andrew has long been loved in Scotland, with the special day celebrated with feasts in his honour that are alleged to go back as far as 1000AD. That said, it was until the year 1320 and the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, that confirmed him as officially Scotland’s patron saint.

What is Google Doodle

Google say their first Doodle was a simple "out-of-office message" though the popular Google Doodle has become quite a staple over the last 25 years with the drawings on the search engines webpage becoming a bit of global phenomenon that celebrates heroes, events, culture, places and special days.

A Google Doodle is simply a drawing on the main page of Google.com that celebrates a person, an event, a special day, a place or anything they fancy and can be a fun way to learn!

What is today's Google Doodle

To mark the special day, Google Doodle has placed some beautiful hand-crafted that features thistle flowers which they say represent "resilience, strength, and protection."

Google Doodle writes: "Today’s hand-crafted stained glass Doodle celebrates St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day. Each year, 30th November marks a day of celebrating Scottish roots. The artwork features thistle flowers which represent resilience, strength, and protection.

St. Andrew’s Day celebrations vary across Scotland. The capital, Edinburgh, hosts storytelling and music performances, and street markets that sell everything from hand-made scarves to homemade sausages. In the seaside town of St. Andrews, bagpipes and drums sing over the crashing waves throughout a week-long festival.

Throughout Scotland, gatherings called Ceilidhs draw hundreds of people dressed in plaid kilts and carry into the night as they dance to both traditional and modern Scottish music. And it’s not a celebration without Scottish foods like cullin skink, a hearty soup dish made with smoked haddock, potatoes and onions.

Happy St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland!"

What do Scottish people do on St Andrew's Day

If you're not Scottish, you may be wondering what exactly happens on St Andrew's Day and why it is one of the biggest events on Scotland's calendar.

An official bank holiday, November 30 offers a fantastic opportunity to celebrate all that is Scottish, including our culture, tradition meals and of course, a good ceilidh!

A typical St. Andrew's Day would include lots of good food, some drink to toast, Scottish music and dancing and many will party long into the night! Who is St Andrew

If you would like to learn more about the Patron Saint of Scotland, we have a full article that will give the lowdown on the man himself and why he is so loved by Scots!