The festival will focus on areas including the arts and sport Salmond sings along

Alex Salmond said he wanted the Winter Festival to celebrate Scotland's history, culture, arts and sport.

The festival will run from St Andrew's Day on 30 November through to Burns Night on 25 January.

Workers can take a public holiday on St Andrew's Day for the first time this year, after MSPs backed plans allowing people to swap an existing holiday.

Mr Salmond and education secretary Fiona Hyslop launched the Winter Festival and St Andrew's Day programmes during a visit to St Margaret's Primary in Loanhead, Midlothian.

St Andrew's Day is a celebration of Scotland at home and abroad Alex Salmond

The first minister has previously said he envisages the festival as being a "high point" in the nation's annual calendar, which could help attract more visitors to the country.

Highlights for St Andrew's Day include: Glasgow's Shindig in the Square; Edinburgh's Jig in the Gardens; a Doric Cabaret Evening in Aberdeen; music, dancing and food in Dundee; a ceilidh in Stirling and living history displays on the Culloden Battlefield in Inverness.

More than 100 events will be held over the following two months.

Mr Salmond said: "St Andrew's Day is a celebration of Scotland at home and abroad.

"It is a chance to enjoy the multi-cultural Scotland we have become. But it's more than an excuse for a party - it's an opportunity to celebrate our history and our talents."