Why is the Thistle the Flower of Scotland?
I’ve had many people believe that the thistle is Scotland’s national flower because it’s pretty like our bonny lassies. And, there’s certainly a lot of truth to that, though there’s also a little truth in the fact that our bonny lassies can be a little prickly when they need to be, just like the Thistle. Now, this might also be a fair comparison to make, but that’s not the real reason the Thistle is the National Flower of Scotland. Continue reading to discover why the thistle is the flower of Scotland.
John Stevenson
C.E.O &
Scotland Tour Guide
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In Scotland, we have the beautiful thistle as our National Flower. This proud looking flower has become almost like the emblem of Scotland and is spotted everywhere from football team badges, hotel names not to mention all over the Highlands of Scotland. It shouldn’t be too difficult to see pictures of thistles, and actual thistles all over as you explore Scotland.
Many other countries also have a National Flower, Ireland has the clover, England has the Rose, France has the Iris and Holland has their Tulips.
Though I don’t think any National Flower represents their people and its nation more than Scotland’s wonderful and wild Thistle.
But… Why is the Thistle the Flower of Scotland?
4 Ways the Thistle Represents the People of Scotland
1 - The Thistle is Welcoming and Kind
The Thistle flower matches our people in their generosity and welcoming nature. The Thistle is kind, welcoming and always willing to help. You might be thinking, John, this is a flower, how can it be welcoming? Though just like the people of Scotland are welcoming to visitors of different nationalities, religions and cultures, so is the Thistle. It welcomes some of Scotland’s most beautiful butterflies, including the Pearl Bordered Fritillary, who use the Thistle as a source of nectar to feed upon. And being the ever gracious host, the Thistle welcomes these beautiful creatures with open leaves.
This represents the Scottish people and the country of Scotland perfectly. We welcome visitors with open arms, we’re grateful that travellers from all over the world want to visit the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland, explore our castles and visit our remote Lochs and Glens and the people of Scotland go out of our way to ensure visitors have the most amazing time as they travel around Scotland.
2 - The Thistle is Tough and Resilient
Just like the people of Scotland, the Thistle is tough and resilient. In the past, the people of Scotland had to be tough in the face of invasion, both the Vikings and the English tried to conquer Scotland, though the Scottish clans showed how tough they are in dealing with these invasions. In comparison to this, the thistle has to constantly adapt and overcome the ever changing Scottish weather. Sitting at the top of a mountain, there’s no place for a Thistle to hide as it gets blasted by rain, wind and cold conditions, especially in the remote Highlands of Scotland.
3 - Proud People and Proud Thistle
The thistle’s a proud flower, standing tall and elegant for all to see, with its beautiful purple crown giving it a look of Royalty. The Scottish people are known for also being very proud. We are the nation who’ll follow a football team all over the world, knowing we’ll likely be defeated on the pitch, though will still hold our heads up high, sing as loud as we can and be proud of the fact that we can represent our country and everything it stands for.
4 - The Scots & Thistles are simply very good looking
The most important, and by far the most obvious comparison is both the Scottish Thistle and the people of Scotland are extremely good looking and oh so easy on the eyes. From actors like Sam Heughan (Outlander) and Gerard Butler (300) that make the ladies go crazy to Karen Gillan (Jumanji) for the lads, the Scots have some extremely good looking people. The thistle itself, is a gorgeous flower and due to its beauty, outside the gorgeous Scottish countryside, you’ll also see people planting them in their gardens.
The story of how the Thistle became the National Flower of Scotland
It was the year 1263 and the Scots were again being invaded by those pesky Vikings, who thought that they could just come over from Norway and steal all of our land.
King Haakon of Norway was intent in conquering the entire nation with his large fleet of longboats and barbaric Viking soldiers.
It’s said that the Vikings wanted to attack us quickly and quietly, by using the element of surprise, and defeat the Scots before we were aware that they had arrived.
To achieve this, the Norsemen took off their heavy, clunky boots and started tiptoeing across the beautiful Scottish Countryside. When all of a sudden, they started trampling through land full of the prickly little Thistles
“Ooooohhh!! Aaaarghhhhh!! Eeeeehhhhh!!” These pathetic screams started echoing across the Scottish Countryside. A feeble sound of high pitched screams from these weak Viking trespassers. It was an embarrassing sight to see and cringeworthy to hear. These supposedly tough Vikings were no match for our proud first line of defence, the Scottish Thistle.
As soon as these pitiful cries went out, the Scots who heard the screeching shouted “Do you hear that pathetic noise lads?! They’re just over the Glen, lets send them packing!”, and the Scots soldiers, now aware of the Vikings position, hiked over the Glen and defeated them in battle. By doing so, they ensured that when you’re visit our wonderful country, you’re visiting Scotland and not Norway. This is all thanks to the brave work of the heroic Scottish Thistle, our bonny National Flower of Scotland.
Visit Scotland and enjoy our Scottish Thistles
We’re lucky in that our national flower the Thistle can be found in most areas around the country. It can be located in the fertile lush lands of the lowlands to the peated soil of the Highlands of Scotland. At certain times of year, we’ll see them almost everyday as we explore Scotland on a tours from our capital city of Edinburgh or explore on a tour from Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow.
If you’d like to come and see some Thistles, explore Scotland and hear more entertaining stories about Scotland’s wildlife, history, people, and culture, then you should join one of our Scotland tours. We’ll get you away from the roads and out exploring the Wild areas of Scotland along with some of the most beautiful and historic places in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the story of ‘Why is the thistle the flower of Scotland?"!
