Thanks to the Queen’s birthday, the Royal Tour down under, Shakespeare’s Birthday and St George’s Day, this week is already shaping up to be a pretty patriotic one for us Brits.
Her Majesty the Queen celebrated her official 88th birthday on Monday, William Shakespeare celebrates his 450th Birthday and William and Kate are about to wrap up a much publicised tour of New Zealand and Australia. It seems that barely a news programme goes by without glorious shots of Kate and William out and about, although to be honest nine-month old Prince George (third in line to the throne no less) has stolen much of the limelight (and indeed our hearts). And coupled with the fact that today is St George’s Day, it’s a great week to indulge in a bit of patriotic pride.
Which leads us nicely onto the annual St George’s Day, which is steeped in myth and legend. Although it lacks the flamboyancy of other saints days (think St Patrick’s Day) it’s time to abandon the typical English reserve and mark the day with the pomp it deserves.
Who was St George and why is the day important?
St George is a patron saint of both England and several other countries around the world. Each year on 23 April, people around the world celebrate St. George’s Day where it’s popular with several churches, including the Anglican Communion, which the Church of England is a part of. It’s also popular in countries and cities where Saint George is the patron Saint, such as England, Canada, Croatia and the city of Moscow. The feast day honours Saint George where more than two thousand years have passed and many myths and legends abound.
Whilst St George is the patron saint of England, it’s not marked as a national holiday here, a fact which is raised every year without fail in the media. Many others countries enjoy a day off to celebrate their national day, so why not England?
