Scotland

St Machar Day, patron saint of Aberdeen

Saint Machar is the Diocesan Patron Saint of Aberdeen; the Feast Day being observed on 12th November.

Handsel Monday, traditionally the day on which gifts were exchanged in Scotland

“Handsel Monday” is a traditional Scottish term for the first Monday of the year.

The Princess Royal formally opened the Loch Lomond

The Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park became fully operational on 19 July 2002 and was officially opened by Princess Anne on 24 July 2002.

Jack McConnell elected First Minister of Scotland, succeeding Henry McLeish who had resigned

Jack McConnell, a Scottish Labour politician, was elected as the First Minister of Scotland on November 22, 2001, succeeding Henry McLeish. This followed the resignation of Henry McLeish as the First Minister.

Henry McLeish resigned as Scotlands First Minister

Henry McLeish served as the First Minister of Scotland from 2000 to 2001. His tenure as First Minister was relatively brief, and it was marked by political challenges, including controversies surrounding his financial affairs.

Hunt the Gowk, Scottish equivalent of April Fools Day (gowk is a cuckoo)

Hunt the Gowk, 1st April In Scotland, April Fools’ Day was originally called “Huntigowk Day”. The name is a corruption of “hunt the gowk”, gowk being Scots for a cuckoo or a foolish person; alternative terms in Gaelic would be Là na Gocaireachd, “gowking day”, or Là Ruith na Cuthaige, “the day of running the cuckoo”.

Scottish Parliament on The Mound, Edinburgh

The original Parliament of Scotland was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland, and existed from the early 13th century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Election for the new Scottish Parliament

Naomi Mitchison, prolific Scottish writer, died

Naomi Mitchison, (1 November 1897 – 11 January 1999) the prolific Scottish writer, died on January 11, 1999. She was known for her diverse body of work, which included novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. Often called a doyenne of Scottish literature, she wrote over 90 books of historical and science fiction, travel writing and autobiography.

Stone of Destiny, stolen by the English, returned to Scotland, 700 years later

The Stone of Scone (/ˈskuːn/; Scottish Gaelic: An Lia Fàil; Scots: Stane o Scone), also known as the Stone of Destiny, is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used originally in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and, after the 13th century, the coronation of the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom.