Will you be celebrating St Georges Day?

St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint, including England, the old kingdoms and counties of the Crown of Aragon in Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria and the cities of Moscow, Genova, Beirut and Victoria in Malta and many others where it is a day of joy and believing in God, people will go out and build a fire and play around it, people will bless their houses, fields, their children and everything around them with water as it was the holy water. St. George's Day is known as the Feast of St. George by Palestinians. St. George's Day is a provincial government holiday in Newfoundland, Canada. St. George is also the patron saint of the Scout Movement, who have been celebrating St. George's Day on April 23 since its first years, and St. George is the patron saint of many other organizations.



For England, St. George's Day also marks its National Day. Most countries which observe St. George's Day celebrate it on April 23, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in 303 A.D. Interestingly, April 23, 1616 was also the date of death of English playwright William Shakespeare.



St George's Day was a major feast and national holiday in England on a par with Christmas from the early 15th century until the end of the 18th century after the union of England and our Scottish brothers. In recent years the popularity of St George's Day appears to be increasing again gradually. In 2009 Mayor of London Boris Johnson spearheaded a campaign to encourage the celebration of St George's Day. Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP has been putting the argument forward in the House of Commons to make St George's Day a public holiday. Although Saint George is the Patron Saint of England, it is believed that St George was not English and it is not certain if he visited England or not, although legend has it that St George was born in Coventry at Caludon Castle in Wyken, though some say he was born in Cappadocia, an area which is now in Turkey.



A traditional custom at this time was to wear a red rose in one's lapel, though with changes in fashion this is no longer common. 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, cricket and rugby means that this tradition is rare outside this context. It is customary for the hymn "Jerusalem" to be sung in cathedrals, churches and chapels on St George's Day, or on the Sunday closest to it. St George's Day is traditionally the occasion when the Queen announces new appointments to the Order of the Garter.



There is a growing reaction to the recent indifference to St George's Day. Organizations such as English Heritage, and the Royal Society of Saint George (a non-political English national 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. Other organisations like the St George Unofficial Bank Holiday are encouraging people to be more proactive by taking the day off work (an unofficial bank holiday). They seem to be having some effect. On the other hand, there have also been calls to replace St George as patron saint of England, on the grounds that he was an obscure figure who had no direct connection with the country. However he represents the triumph of good over evil - something which every true and decent Englishman and Briton holds passionately in his heart. Besides, St Patrick was from Wales (now the UK) not Ireland.



I am organising a drink down at my local pub where we will all play our favourite English music like Fairport Convention, The Jam, The Kinks, Beatles, Stones, Bowie and Elgar!



Anyone else going to fly the flag or at least celebrate with an English ale or a G%26amp;T ??? :)Will you be celebrating St Georges Day?
St George's Day will be celebrated by me.



I don't give a two friggs about Political Correctness, if my St George's flag or Englishness offends anyone they should really think about moving country.



I remember when i was young in the scouts, we used to parade on St George's day and pledge our Allegiance to The Queen.



Being English is to win the lottery of life, I am very proud of what my nation has achieved and its place in the world.



Great Englishmen include, Sir Winston Churchill, Admiral Lord Nelson, Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, William Willberforce, Sir Walter Raleigh, William Shakespear, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Don't like drinking on my own. Most people down here, other than Catholics, don't even know what a church is! The English will drink because they're in the pub anyway, not because of St. George.Will you be celebrating St Georges Day?
'TIMMY' is a foul RACIST.

Yes I will certainly be celebrating with my multi coloured friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



and what the HECK is

'Squeeky Guinee Pig'

going on about... wot a load of rubbish - so wot?
Nope, but on St. David's Day I will eat a leek, stand on a chair, and drink a firkin of ale!Will you be celebrating St Georges Day?
Nope....
Never heard of it, thanks for all the info, but now I need a nap!
hell yeah
St Patrick may not have been born in Ireland but he lived most of his life there and made a significant contribution to Irish history and culture.



St Andrew did not come from Scotland but he is buried there.



St George was not English, he came from the Middle East and if he were living today groups like the BNP and their fellow-travellers would not make him welcome here in the UK.



On the other hand he was a Christian martyr who was put to death for speaking out against religious persecution. That is what he should be remembered for, because the issues that he faced up to are still relevant today.



Enjoy your celebrations.
I've yet to hear of St. George's Day to date :) That said, here in America we always need another day to drink LOL. St Patty's has just passed and we're out of luck until May (Cinco de Mayo) and then the 4th of July. Maybe April will help us out here :)



Thanks again, my dear history buff, for the informative post. It's always a pleasure!
Yes I will , since I celebrate my nameday :)



I am Greek and my name is Giorgos (George in english), and here in Greece namedays are very important, friends and relatives call you to give you wishes, they come over your house to bring presents, you offer drinks, food etc etc etc.
Yes. Let's all celebrate the achievements of the white man!