Today Lou has spoken about Saint George's day which is celebrated on April 23rd.

St. Georges is the patron saint of England( although he has never set foot in England ! ) His emblem, a red cross on a white background( cf above) is the flag of England, and part of the British flag. St George's emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king's soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who was Saint George?

St. George is believed to have been born in Cappadocia (now Eastern Turkey) in the year A.D. 270. He was a Christian. At the age of seventeen he joined the Roman army and soon became renowned for his bravery. He served under a pagan Emperor but never forgot his Christian faith.

When the pagan Emperor Diocletian started persecuting Christians, St. George pleaded with the Emperor to spare their lives. However, St. George's pleas fell on deaf ears and it is thought that the Emperor Diocletian tried to make St. George deny his faith in Christ, by torturing him. St George showed incredible courage and faith and was finally beheaded near Lydda in Palestine on 23 April, 303 ( incidentally on the same day as William Shakespeare or Rupert Brooke). Hence his banner which represents the red cross of a martyr on a white background.

In 1222, the Council of Oxford declared April 23 to be St George’s Day and he replaced St Edmund the Martyr as England’s patron saint in the 14th century. In 1415, April 23 was made a national feast day.

St George is patron saint not only of England but also of Aragon, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, and Russia, as well as the cities of Amersfoort, Beirut, Bteghrine, Cáceres, Ferrara, Freiburg, Genoa, Ljubljana, Gozo, Pomorie, Qormi, Lod and Moscow !!!!

The legend of Saint George

In Lybia,  he met a poor hermit who told him that everyone in that land was in great distress, for a dragon had long ravaged the country.

'Every day,' said the old man, 'he demands the sacrifice of a beautiful maiden and now all the young girls have been killed. The king's daughter( Princess Sabra) alone remains, and unless we can find a knight who can slay the dragon she will be sacrificed tomorrow. The king of Egypt will give his daughter in marriage to the champion who overcomes this terrible monster.'

When St. George heard this story, he was determined to try and save the princess.

He entered the valley where the dragon lived..

As soon as the dragon saw him it rushed from its cave, roaring with a sound louder than thunder. Its head was immense and its tail fifty feet long. But St. George was not afraid. He struck the monster with his spear ( lance), hoping he would wound it.But the dragon's scales ( écailles) were so thick that the spear broke and Saint George fell but fortunately he rolled under an enchanted orange tree against which poison could not prevail, so that the venomous dragon was unable to hurt him. Within a few minutes he had recovered his strength and was able to fight again.He pierced it under the wing where there were no scales, so that it fell dead at his feet.

How it is celebrated

By tradition, 23rd April is the day for a red rose in the button hole, the national flower. However, unlike other countries, England does not celebrate it like Americans celebrate 4 July with fireworks but rather with small concerts . However in Birmingham, they install giant inflatable dragons !   It is not even a bank holiday : for most people in England St George's Day is just another ordinary working day.

You can check your knowledge on this day by taking this quiz here : http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1945854.stm?markResults=true&a_01=2&a_02=3&a_03=1&a_04=2&a_05=3&a_06=2&a_07=3&a_08=1&a_09=2&a_10=2  or this one here which is easier : http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz.cfm?qid=73621&origin=