The Scottish Thistle

The thistle is Scotland’s National Flower. Why? Why did Scotland choose a weed as their national flower?

 

I mean, England has a rose, Wales has a daffodil, and Ireland has a shamrock. Why didn’t Scotland choose a flower like one of those?

 

And how did Scotland choose this as their national flower?

 

Legend says that a group of sleeping Scottish warriors were saved from an attack from Norse armies. A thistle apparently was stepped on by one of the members of the Norse army. They screamed, and their loud sounds woke up the Scottish warriors and they ultimately defeated the Norse army and therefore adopted the thistle as their national flower.

 

There is no evidence of this though, so nobody knows what the real story is.

 

There’s more. There are also multiple types of thistles–Cotton thistles, Melancholy thistles, Musk thistles, and more. But nobody knows what type of thistle Scotland’s national flower is.

 

I think that the thistle is very fitting for Scotland. Not everybody appreciates that weeds are strong, and I think Scotland chose the thistle because it is strong, sharp, and beautiful–which is exactly what Scotland is.

 

 

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