1. Situation
Scotland constitutes one of the countries within the UK and is located in the northern area of the largest of the British Isles. Smaller islands, like The Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland and other minor ones also belong to its territory. It is a gorgeous country with the Atlantic Ocean to the northwest and the North Sea to the northeast.
2. The major cities
Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland has been the centre of power since 1437 and nowadays it is the seat of the country's local government and parliament. The historical city of Edinburgh is really attractive and has a magnificent castle, Scotland's National Gallery, St Mary's Cathedral and the city zoo.
Glasgow is the biggest Scotland's city. It is located on the River Clyde, in central lowlands, in their western part. When you visit Glasgow you should see the Modern Art Gallery, the 13th century Glasgow Cathedral, and the Theatre Royal.
Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland and the name of the City of Aberdeen applies to its largest part of the municipal council area. The city is frequently nicknamed after its granite buildings.
3. A brief historical outline
The territory of present day Scotland was settled by the Picts and Scots who belonged to the Celtic tribes. The Roman efforts to overcome those lands proved unsuccessful and finally the Hadrian Wall was constructed. The wall was a fortified defence line that marked the border of the Roman Empire in the North.
In 843 Kenneth Mac Alpine united the kingdoms of Picts and Scots and then the Kingdom of Scots was established.
At the opening of the 13th century, John Balliol was appointed the ruler of Scots by the English king Edward I who declared that he was the sovereign of Scotland. Opposition to the English impostors resulted in the insurrection, whose leader was William Wallace. His story was told in the film "Braveheart" that won many Academy awards. William Wallace was executed by the English, and Robert Bruce became another leader. The English invaders were defeated in the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, and the King of England had to approve Scotland's independence.
In the 17th century England and Scotland had the same king, as a personal union was established between the two countries. Gradually, England achieved a great influence upon the internal affairs in Scotland and established its stronger and stronger domination.
The independence of Scotland became a big issue the 90's of XX century and the idea won numerous supporters. In the election that took place in Scotland in 1999 the members of Scottish Parliament were chosen, so at present Scotland has its independent and autonomous government.
4. Religion.
The Kirk, as the Church of Scotland is occasionally called, is a national church but it is independent of the state control, and is it not 'established' in the similar way as the Anglican Church in England. It was acknowledged as not subject to the Parliament in the Church of Scotland Act of 1921, which settled the dispute involving the Church and the State for centuries over the jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters.
The Reformation was commenced in Scotland in 1560 and its leader was John Knox who was a Calvinist. That religious movement was continued in the 17th and 18th century. The Church of Scotland assumed a rigid theological stand and the people's morals were kept under strict control. The Church exercised an overpowering authority over Scotland's intellectual improvement before the beginning of contemporary epoch. Further Protestant denominations comprise a Presbyterian derivative from the Church of Scotland called the Free Church of Scotland, that holds on to a more conformist Calvinism tradition. The Scottish Episcopal Church is still another denomination and it belongs to the Anglican Communion, whose integral part it constitutes.
Roman Catholicism was suppressed from the 16th to the 18th century but it continued to exist despite the Reformation, especially on several smaller and more remote islands where it survived the suppression and in the West of Scotland, where it was reinforced in the 19th century, mainly by the Irish immigrants. At present the only larger Christian denomination is the Church of Scotland. Scotland has already suffered problems resulting from fanaticism which appeared particularly around Glasgow, especially in the area involving the Celtic Glasgow and Glasgow Rangers football competition between the two clubs.
Among the non-Christian religion followers in Scotland, Islam has the most numerous. Jewish and Sikh populations are less numerous but also significant, although the size of the Jewish group is smaller than it used to be, particularly in Glasgow. In Scotland, there are a large number of people who declare that they are indifferent. The survey of 2001 proved that this was the second most frequent answer to the query concerning religion.
5. Language
The absence of official language in Scotland results from the fact, that there is no written constitution in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, there are three languages: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots that are officially accepted. English is actually the dominating one and Scottish Standard English is the first language for almost all Scots. After the UK had ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Scots and Gaelic were accepted. To ensure the rules are followed, Scottish Executive is appointed, according to the UK's procedures, to provide for the enforcement of the rights. The particular provisions are delineated in the Charter as specific and exact regulations enumerated in detail in the relevant paragraphs, articles and annotations in Part II and Part III of the document, with respect to Scots and Gaelic.
The Gaelic native speakers constitute a relatively small number of not more than one per cent of all the people in Scotland. Gaelic belongs to thee group of Celtic languages and is very much alike its Irish dialect. Its users are bilingual, as they speak also English with the same fluency. The Western Isles is a region where Gaelic is spoken mostly, so the authorities of that area use for themselves a Gaelic name that in English means "the local council". By force of the Language Act of 2005 for Scotland which was approved by the local Parliament in order to have a legal ground for the requirement of a narrow range of service in Gaelic, both official languages enjoy 'equal respect' but not exactly the same legally recognized rank. According to the Scottish General Register Office estimates, 30% of people are speakers of Scots, that is a Germanic language from the West group typologically close to English. Nevertheless, the status of Scots as a separate language is questionable to those who consider it just an English dialect.
6. Educational system.
Scotland's education is different than in the other parts of the U.K. It can boast its individual history as Scotland was the foremost state after the Spartan times to put into practice a scheme of common public education. Its background was the Education Act issued in 1496 that was the first to introduce obligatory tutoring for the first-born sons of landed gentry, and then the standard of common public schools was laid down when the Reformation followers founded the National Church. In 1561 it got started with a public curriculum for the religious development, which included founding parish schools in every township. School system was finally subjected to the government rather than the ecclesiastical control to become obligatory for all infants starting in 1872 with the completion of the Education Act. This resulted in a higher number of people trained at three consecutive school levels in Scotland than in any other European country for more than two centuries. The advantages of the school system were shown in different ways, but the most obviously in the number of graduates who became the best professionals in each field in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
Scottish secondary school learners take their tests for Standard Grade when they are fifteen or sixteen years old and sometimes earlier, and sit for not more than eight exams, counting obligatory tests in mathematics, English, science, social studies and a foreign language. The essential combinations may be different in each school. The graduation age is 16, and then it is up to students whether they stay longer school and learn to take the whole range of still higher and more advanced exams. Nevertheless, those undergraduates who study at several autonomous private schools are allowed to study according to the same system as in England and take GCSE instead of Scottish standards, and then study for A and AS-Levels instead of the Scottish higher and advanced exams. Over forty colleges of further education and of higher level are financed by the Scottish supervisory and administrative authorities and their undergraduates can obtain more vocational training; and qualify for degrees, for example certificates; they can also take specialist courses, e.g. in the artistic subjects or farming.
In Scotland, there are thirteen universities and a university college, in this number four oldest universities dating back to the Middle Ages: St Andrews (1413), Glasgow (1451), Aberdeen (1495) Edinburgh (1583). In order to obtain a Bachelor's degree at any university in Scotland one must stay there for 4 years. It is possible to graduate one year earlier and obtain a lower grade and the last year at the university is for the honours grade. Unlike in the other countries of the U.K., students from Scotland pay no tuition fees at a local university. The universities in Scotland catch the attention of large numbers of foreign candidates, and a lot of them collaborate with foreign organizations.
7. Customs and Traditions
In numerous characteristics of its way of life, Scotland is very much alike the other parts of the U.K., but there are individual cultural differences identifiable in several areas. There is a definite countrywide Scottish individuality which can be most easily noticed in the local artistic life.
The Scottish music scene is an important feature of the national background, influenced both with tradition and modern trends. The best known Scottish wind instrument is the bagpipes, a musical instrument in which the pipes are continuously fed with air supplied from an airtight bag reservoir. Other typically Scottish instruments are the accordion and the fiddle common in traditional style dance bands. Andy Stewart and the Corries are famous traditional style musicians, followed by present-day Dougie MacLean. Contemporary pop music in Scotland is represented by many internationally recognised bands. Deacon Blue, Bay City Rollers, Texas, Franz Ferdinand and Travis are some of the examples. Gerry Rafferty is a soloist while Runrig or Capercaillie are world-famous groups with standard Gaelic repertory. Oi Polloi is a punk band that plays Gaelic tunes and one of those who have given the ancient music a new sound.
The history Scottish literature is long and rich. Robert Burns is Scotland's national poet, widely read and recognized. He wrote his poems in Scots and his works are still very popular. His life and poetry are commemorated on January 25, his birthday, and the celebration is called Burns Supper or Burns Night. Other Walter Scott, James Hogg and Robert Louis Stevenson were other big names in Scottish literature. Irvine Welsh who has written Trainspotting is a well-known controversial contemporary writer. One of Edinburgh coffee shops is a famous place now, as J.K. Rowling wrote her first book of Harry Potter series just there.
8. Sports.
Scotland has the benefit of its individual sporting contests different from those in other U.K. countries. There is national Rugby Union in Scotland and Football League. The national football team takes part in international championships, like the World Cup, yet it is not the case with the Olympics.
The most popular sport in Scotland is association football, both with the players and with the fans. The world's first football match of international rank was played in Scotland and it was hosted by the national Scottish team. Only English Football Association is older than the Scottish Football Association, which was founded in 1873, and the world's oldest national football trophy is the Scottish Cup.
Celtic Glasgow and Glasgow Rangers are the best known Scottish football teams and they are very popular also outside of Scotland. Two Polish football players - Maciej Żurawski, the forward and Artur Boruc, the goalkeeper are the stars of the team of Celtic Glasgow.
Scotland's Celtic League unites the rugby clubs for professional players. There are also semi-pro and amateur clubs, which also have their own national league.
The Camanachd Association supports shinty, which is a unique Scottish game popular not only in the Highlands but also at many institutions of higher education and in urban areas. Scotland is often regarded as the 'Home of Golf', and is renowned for the numerous courses, together with Old Links Course. Scotland is also the domain of curling and the female team is the recent Olympic championship winner. Curling is trendier in Scotland than anyplace in Europe, although not so well-liked as in Canada. Other games, like basketball, tennis and hockey are also widely played in Scotland. Cricket is popular in Scotland, too, with the number of 12,000 active players.
9. Free time activities.
The Scotts have many ways to spend their leisure time. They play many sports, and, as it has already been said, football and rugby are the best liked ones.
Many people are also fond of spending their leisure time in taverns, bars, pubs and other locals in which they can drink beer, listen to folk music, and play very popular game of darts. Scotts are also very good snooker players, and, just like football, it seems to be another national game.
