National Days

Today, (30 of November) is Scotland's National Day- St. Andrew's Day. However it is only a semi-holiday and not given the full status of an official national day as is in most other countries. However, is this a problem? Should countries even have national holidays- what do they represent, unity and pride or watered down xenophobia?

Another question which arises in Scotland's case is should a country have it's national day based around an event/personage which is only relevant to a small amount of the population? (In this case Christians and more so Roman Catholics who celebrate the Feast Day?) In discussions for the UK to have a national day one of the most popular choices was the signing of the Magna Carta- however this would only really be relevant to English peoples...

So, National Days- a good thing or a bad thing or do they even matter?

I can see how an argument might be made against "National Days," especially in light of increased globalization, but I just can't bring myself to take a stand against them because national pride and unity is such an important part of American life. Without the common ethnicity or religious background present in many other countries, the fundamental bond we share is our citizenship. As much as I support good international relations and communication, at this point I think it is still a good thing for national identity to remain intact.

in terms of what they signify i've always found them a bit pointless...and St Andrew's day will never have the popularity, even in Scotland, that St Patrick's day because of when it is...it's just too damn cold to celebrate it.

they're always just an excuse to get drunk anyway...