Today is the 23 April 2019, and that means that this day is also known as St. George’s Day in England. As someone who was born and raised in England, I do feel a connection to my home country on this day, especially since I live outside of the country. For this reason, I would like to share with you 5 facts about St. George’s Day that you might not have known about.
1) St. George may be the patron saint of England, but he was born over 4,000 km away in modern day Turkey in the year 280. Initially a soldier serving the Roman Emperor, he was executed on 23 April 303 for being a Christian. This was because before the rule of Emperor Constantine, Christianity was officially persecuted in the Roman Empire.
2) Before the Act of Union in 1707 which united England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, St. George’s Day was just as important in England as Christmas was. However, despite recent calls for the day to become a public holiday in England, celebrations have waned in recent years, and the British Government has no plans to introduce St. George’s Day as a holiday.
3) There are many traditions that are associated with St. George’s Day. Typically; parades, church services and anything “considered English”, such as Morris Dancing and Punch & Judy shows are often performed. In the past, a tradition was to place a red rose on a person’s jacket lapel, but this has fallen out of fashion in modern times.
4) England is not the only region in the world where St. George’s Day is celebrated. An interesting celebration occurs in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia in Spain. St. George’s Day there is celebrated like Valentine’s Day is in the UK, with the gifting of roses (and books) being customary.
5) Not only is St. George’s Day not just celebrated in the same region, it is also not even celebrated at the same time. Rather confusingly, the celebrations in the Czech Republic (Czechia) take place on 24 April, 1 day later than England’s. Moreover, due to the Eastern Orthodox Church continuing to use the Julian Calendar instead of adopting the Gregorian Calendar, they celebrate St. George’s Day on 6 May.
Thank you for reading this article from Jack Fawsitt Productions, and I hope you have a happy St. George’s Day if you celebrate the day.
