St. Andrew is Scotland’s Patron Saint and on November 30th, Canadians celebrate St. Andrew’s Day along with the rest of the world! In 2021 Ontario took a further step, enacting Bill 208 which proclaims November 30th as Scottish Heritage Day in Ontario.

Over the last two years the SSO and the St. Andrew’s Society of Ottawa have co-hosted successful celebrations of this day at Ottawa City Hall, marking it with a flag-raising ceremony, along with the evocative sounds of a piper from the Cameron Highlanders (Duke of Edinburgh’s Own) and the Ottawa Celtic choir- and of course, a social gathering afterwards. The flag is the Saltire, or St. Andrew’s Cross. It features a white diagonal cross on a blue background.

All are welcome to participate. The venue for this year’s celebration is the north side of City Hall (opposite Confederation Park) at 5:30 p.m. on November 30th where we’ll have a few commemorative speeches and then the flag raising. This part of the evening, roughly 30-40 minutes, is outdoors, so dress warmly! We’ll then convene to a respectable “alehouse” nearby, Deacon Brodie’s, on Elgin St., for warmth, refreshments, and some lively Celtic music!

We hope to see you there!