St George's Day (April 23) is celebrated in several nations of whom Saint George is the patron saint, including England, Georgia, Portugal, and Catalonia. In England it is the National Day. April 23 was the date of Saint George's death in 303.
In 1969 St George was dropped from the Roman Catholic calendar, and his commemoration reduced to a purely local observance. He is however still honoured as a saint of major importance by Eastern Orthodoxy. His feast date, April 23, remains the second most important National Feast in Catalonia. It is traditional in that autonomous community where it is known in Catalan as Dia Sant Jordi, to give a rose and a book to a loved one. This has led UNESCO to declare April 23 as the International Day of the Book.
St George is also the patron saint of the scouting movement. Many Scout Troops in the United Kingdom take part in a St George's Day Parade on the nearest Sunday to April 23. A message from the Chief Scout is read out and the Scout Hymn is sung. A "renewal of promise" then takes place where the Scouts renew the Scout's Promise made at joining and at all Scout meetings.
St George's Day is not celebrated as much in England as other National Days are around the world, and it has become fashionable among media commentators to dismiss it on the grounds that the English do not need to express their national identity publicly. The celebration of St George's Day was once a major feast in England on a par with Christmas from the early 15th century however this tradition had waned by the end of the 18th century. In recent years Andrew Rosindell M.P. for Romford, has been putting his argument forward in the House of Commons to try and make St George's day a public holiday.
A traditional custom at this time was to wear a red rose in one's lapel though with changes in fashion this is not as widely done. Another custom is to fly or adorn the St George's cross flag in some way: pubs in particular can be seen on April 23 festooned with garlands of St George's crosses. However the modern association of the St George's cross with sports such as football and rugby means that this tradition too is losing popularity with people who do not associate themselves with those sports.
There is a growing reaction to the late twentieth century indifference to St George's Day. Organizations such as the Royal Society of Saint George (a non-political nationalist society founded in 1894) have been joined by the more prominent St George's Day Events company (founded in 2002), with the specific aim of encouraging celebrations.
External links
Last updated: 05-25-2005 03:43:48
