30th November: St Andrew's Day

You probably know that St Andrew was one of the Apostles, the brother of Simon Peter and that he is patron saint of Scotland. Here are some lesser known facts:

1. Andrew is also the patron saint of Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Barbados, Luxembourg, Greece, Amalfi in Italy, Esgueira in Portugal, Luqa in Malta, Parañaque in the Philippines, Patras in Greece, fishermen, sailors, golfers, spinsters, and fishmongers. He was also the patron saint of Prussia and of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
2. He is invoked against gout and stiff necks.
3. He is said to have founded the See of Byzantium (Constantinople) in AD 38 and the Georgian church.
4. There is a cave in Romania called St Andrew's cave, where he is said to have preached.
5. A Cypriot legend says that St Andrew was shipwrecked in Cyprus, and that as he came ashore, a healing spring gushed out of the spot where he placed his staff, healing the ship's captain, who had been blind in one eye.
6. According to the apocryphal book, the Acts of Andrew, he performed a number of miracles including healing, raising the dead, calming storms and defeating armies just by crossing himself. He's also said to have caused an illegitimate embryo to die, and to have rescued a boy from his incestuous mother, which involved God sending an Earthquake to help them escape.
7. He was martyred by crucifixion, but insisted he was not worthy to be crucified on the same sort of cross as Jesus, and so he was bound to an X shaped cross, or saltire, instead.
8. According to legend, a monk called Regulus was told in a dream to rescue the bones of St Andrew and take them "to the ends of the earth" for protection. He managed to get his hands on a kneecap, an upper arm bone, three fingers and a tooth, and set sail with them to the edges of the then known world. The association of Andrew with Scotland began when Regulus was shipwrecked on the coast of Fife and built a shrine there.
9. Later on, in 832 AD, Óengus II was about to go into battle against a much larger army of Angles, and was praying for victory. He vowed that if he won the battle, he would make Andrew the patron saint of Scotland. Legend has it that on the morning of the battle, an X shaped cloud appeared in the sky, which was taken as a sign. Óengus went into battle, won, and kept his promise. This is the origin of the Scottish flag - a white cross on a blue background.
10. In Scotland and Northern England there is a superstition which says that placing a cross of Saint Andrew on the fireplace stops witches from flying down the chimney.