The Saltire:

Scotland's national flag, known as the St. Andrew's Cross or the Saltire is among the oldest national flags in the world. The St. Andrew's cross is a distinctive shape because, so the story goes, the Apostle Andrew, who would later become the patron saint of Scotland, asked that he not be crucified on a cross of the same shape as that on which Jesus Christ was executed. But why is the Scottish Saltire white on an azure blue background? And why was it adopted as the national flag?

The legend of the birth of the Scottish flag takes place circa AD 832 near Athelstaneford in East Lothian. Angus mac Fergus, King of the Picts, and Eochaidh of Dalriada faced off against the army of Athelstane, King of Northumbria, comprising Angles and Saxons. On the eve of the battle, it is said that the Scots saw the clouds in the evening sky arranged in a formation exactly like that of St. Andrew's cross. The Scots saw this as a harbinger of their victory. When they were victorious the following day, they adopted a white St. Andrew's cross on a field of azure blue as their national standard.

After the Union of 1707 and the creation of the United Kingdom, the flag adopted by the British government incorporated the flags of England (St. George's Cross, a red, centered conventional cross on a white field), Northern Ireland (St. Patrick's Cross, a red St. Andrew's cross on a white field), and Scotland's Saltire. However, the designers of the Union flag changed the color of the blue field from azure to navy. According to the laws of the United Kingdom, citizens of the various countries must not fly the Union flag as it is reserved for official government use. British citizens are expected instead to fly their own national flags. Thus, the Saltire flies over public buildings and private homes alike all over Scotland.

Scotland does have another flag in wide use. Coming soon, the Lion Rampant.

The Thistle:

The countries of the British Isles are known almost as well by their symbolic flora as by their national flags. England has its showy, elegant rose that regally flourishes in formal gardens the world over. Ireland is known for the humble, lucky, sparkling green shamrock that thrives everywhere. Scotland has the hardy, tough, and spiny, yet soft, lighter than air, and multiply useful thistle.

The character of the thistle, much like that of the Scot, is complex. It is a hardy wildflower, growing equally well on a soft sunny hillside as in a rocky crag, yet the range of cultivars gracing elegant gardens is wide. It is colorful, displaying bold flowered heads of purple and yellow and pink and blue, yet they all fade to white as the plant prepares to loose its seeds. The frugal thistle provides beauty, but its roots can also be used as a food or a coffee substitute, its nectar provides highly prized honey, and its leaves and extracts have powerful medicinal properties. The thistle's sharp, spiny leaves defend it against harm, while its silky down ensures its survival and propagation.

Legend has it that some invading army (the Norse or the Dutch or some apocryphal tribe) once attempted to ambush the sleeping Scots army in Scotland by creeping in the dead of night on bare feet to where the Scots lay in slumber. The thistle pierced the soles of the invaders' feet, raising the Scots in alarm who then repulsed the attack. The victorious Scots adopted the thistle thereafter as their symbol, going so far as to give the humble weed its own motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit," which, in English, means "No one harms me without punishment" but is colloquially said to be: "Wha daurs meddle wi me."