Saint Andrew's Day been given national holiday status. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, which designated the Day as an official bank holiday. If 30 November falls on a weekend, the next Monday is a bank holiday instead. Although it is a bank holiday, banks are not required to close and employers are not required to give their employees the day off as a holiday. The University of St Andrews traditionally gives the day for all the students as a free holiday, but this is not a binding rule. Saint Andrew's Day is an
Scotland in the Middle Ages superiority over the English, who claimed their descent from the Trojans, who had been defeated by the Greeks. The image of St. Andrew, martyred while bound to an X-shaped cross, first appeared in the Scotland during the reign of William I and was again depicted on seals used during the late thirteenth century; including on one particular example used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286. Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew, the saltire, has its origins in the late fourteenth century; the Parliament of Scotland decreed in 1385 that Scottish soldiers should wear a white Saint