DESAFIO

O que é que sabes sobre a Escócia?

Ceilidh - em todas as ocasiões

The Gay Gordon's dance - num ceilidh organizado para os alunos, na Universidade de Edimburgo






The  Strip the Willow dance - num ceilidh ao ar livre (apesar do frio), que se terá aberto à participação da comunidade

A view of Scotland

The British Isles, Scotland and the U.K.

Thistle

Scotland, known as “Alba” or “Caledonia”, is a country located in Great Britain and it is part of the UK. Its patron saint is St Andrew's, its floral emblem is the thistle and Edinburgh is its capital city. Scotland's history and tradition are rich and well alive.

 

Highland Games gathering

The Highland Games are a regularly held event which shows the public traditional sports and activities well alive in Scotland today. Sports competition may include tossing the caber or putting the stone, and activities may include exhibition or selling of arts and crafts goods and other products like flags and banners, and even clothing, namely kilts. Kilts are traditional male garments, similar to a skirt, made of cloth in a tartan pattern. Tartan patterns are square designs which relate to Scottish clans. Usually, there is also information on clans, which refer to families or tribes, and their heritage and symbols. “Sinclair", "MacDonald", "Munro", "Gordon", "Primrose", "Ogilvy", "Urquhart" and "Gunn", just to name a few, are Scottish clans. Piping bands and dancing contests are a high point in entertainment. The bagpipes sound emerges from the drumming and fiddling straight into our ears and hearts.

Ceilidh poster

A way of keeping highland games spirit is a ceilidh. Ceilidh is a social gathering which includes music and dancing to traditional Gaelic sounds. Dances like “Gay Gordon’s”, “Strip the Willow” or “St Bernard's Waltz” are very popular in these gatherings, whether they are held at school or at a wedding party, formality will vary.

Scottish is also well renowned for its cereal national beverage – whisky. If one drinks whisky in Scotland we will certainly be invited to have a meal of haggis. Haggis is a traditional dish made of sheep's heart, liver, lungs and stomach. Such meal would be called Burns Supper and there would probably be a reading of the poem Address to a Haggis. Sir Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, is popular for his folk songs and is worldwide known for his poem Auld Lang Syne.

by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Other famous Scotsman include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of “Sherlock Holmes”, Charles Mackintosh, inventor of the fabric for rain coats, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, an artist and architect, and Alexander Graham Bell, scientist who invented the telephone.

Nevertheless, the most well known Scottish character is probably Nessie. The second biggest lake in surface area in Scotland, and the biggest in depth, loch Ness, is said to be the home of a marine monster – Nessie – the loch Ness monster.

Speaking of characters, let us name some of the most recognisable Scottish actors: Sean Connery (in James Bond) and Ewan Mcgregor (in Trainspotting).

Golfing in the rain

Along with telling tales and ghost stories, telling jokes about the weather can most probably be considered like a national sport: "Today is a great day! Today is a grey day!". However, one must acknowledge Scottish sweet rain for its contribution to the beautiful Scottish natural scenery and thus its magnificently appropriate golfing landscape. Golf being the real national sport, played there since the 15^th century. St Andrew's Old Course is considered to be the home of golf.

 

Gate at the Caledonian Canal

The Scottish scenery is largely dominated by its lochs and by the Highlands and the Great Glen. Along the glen is a navigable waterway, one third man-made (19^th century) and the rest flowing along four natural lakes, from the north-east to the south-west. The Caledonian Canal is 100km long and it is an engineering work which provides safe crossing for sailing boats and tourist cruises.

Tourism is certainly one of the best things to do in Scotland!

SCOTLAND THE BRAVE

 

With a patriotic message, it is considered an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.