You may have seen old men who wore a traditional dress, playing 'Highland Bagpipe’ in the movies. Have you ever known that this 'Bagpiper’ is a cultural symbol of Scotland? 'Great Highland Bagpipe’ is the famous traditional Scottish music instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe with a bag. Scotland is a country which is part of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital and largest city. It is considered as the hub of the intellectual and industrial enlightenment of Scotland. Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city was once one of the world’s leading industrial cities. Valentine’s Day has become a day of colorful celebration in Scotland. It is usually celebrated on 14th of February every year. Not only adults but children also celebrate Valentine’s Day, in Scotland. St. Valentine’s Day has emerged as an important festival of Scotland in recent decades. People consider this day as the opportunity for expressing their love and gratitude to their beloved.
Valentine’s Day Traditions in Scotland
The history of Valentine’s Day belongs to the roman times when St.Valentine was martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. It’s believed that he dies on February 14th and people all over the world honor him on the same day. Scotland people celebrate Valentine’s Day traditionally and the gifts ideas mostly used are from the old times. People exchange greeting cards with love messages. These cards are known as ’valentines’ in Scotland and they are designed in the shape of human heart and red color. It is believed that these cards reflect trust and love.
One can see the excitement of Valentine’s Day even in Scottish schools where children celebrate the day making greeting cards and writing valentines rhymes or poems in it. High School boys make their own Valentine’s cards and start their own saga of love from the early days. These cards are often filled with romantic poems or verses. There is a very interesting tradition about Valentine’s Day in Scotland. If a person meets another person of the opposite gender, they can be each other’s valentines for the particular day. If they like each other so much, they can extend their relationship too.
The insanity of Valentine’s celebration can be seen in the Scottish shops soon after Christmas. Gift shops will be prepared long before the arrival of Valentine’s Day. The business cult of hoteliers, restaurant and pub owners, and shop keepers will be well prepared to cash in the event. When gift cards reach record selling, Hotels and restaurants offer valentines romantic dinner facilities. Scottish People love small get-togethers or a romantic candlelight dinner. Many fun games are played in Scottish valentine parties on the day.
In a popular fun game in Scotland, equal number men and women are made to write their names on a paper which is then folded and placed into a particular hat. There are two hats for this purpose. One hat is for men and the other is women. The first paper piece from the hat will be drawn from men’s hat by a woman. The men selected by her should stay with her as her valentine for the whole day. Later, people will exchange the gifts and a sweet Valentine’s Day is greeted with many hugs and kisses. Sometimes this valentine’s game leads Scottish people to marriages.
