CHAPTER 5: SCOTLAND

Scotland is a land of mountains and lakes. There are about 5 million of persons. The Scottish culture is different than the English.

Men in skirts: The kilt is a piece of clothing which many Scottish men wear on special occasions. It is a 3-meters piece of clothes that it uses like a skirt. Man uses to wear a sporran too.Tartan is the name of a typical coloured pattern. Every family have a different and significant tartan.There was a time that English government banned kilts, because they thought that tartan was a symbol of independence.In 1969, an astronaut who stood on the moon, wore tartan.

Food:Haggises are a sheep’s stomach with meat, onion, oats, spices and salt.Porridge is another dish which is made by boiling oats in milk and shortbread is a delicious butter biscuit.Aberdeen Angus beef and salmon are also well-known for a very good Scotland dishes.

Iconic places: Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is very popular for the Castle and the famous streets such as Princes Street and the Royal Mile. Many famous philosophers and writers lived in Edinburgh: Robert Louis, J.K.Rowling and more. Loch Lomond is the largest lake in Scotland and Loch Ness is the most famous and Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain.Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. Aberdeen is another Scottish cities.

Iconic creatures: The Loch Ness Monster is the most famous inhabitant of Scotland. There is a legend of it. Do you believe in Nessie? She is very good for the Scottish tourist!Dolly the sheep is another famous Scottish animal. She was the first mammal who was cloned.

Iconic people: William Wallace and Robert the Bruce were two great Scottish heroes who fought for independence from England.Robert Bruce was put in prison by the English. When he was there, he watched a spider trying six times to make a web, and in the seventh time he succeeded.Mary Queen of Scots had a dramatic and very sad life.Robert Burns is a poet. His poems in Scottish dialect became very popular. He died in his 37, but his poems live on.Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were famous Scottish writers.Sean Connery was a famous actor and Susan Boyle was a singer.James Watt, Alexander Bell, Alexander Fleming (penicillin) and John Logie Baird were famous inventors.

Sports: Rangers and Celtic are the most famous football teams. Sir Alex Ferguson is Scottish too (the manager of Manchester United).Golf is another popular sport, and in the winter you can go skiing in the Highlands.The Highland Games is a typical Scottish sporting event.

Celebrations:New Year is more important than Christmas.Scottish people know it as “Hogmanay”. There are street parties, and the people sing “Auld Lang Syne”.Burn Night takes place on the birthday of Robert Burns, 25^th January. People read poems and sing songs.