St George's Day
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| St George's Day | |
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| Saint George oil painting by Raphael | |
| Observed by | Nations of who St George is the patron saint |
| Type | National day of England |
| Date | April 23, May 6, November 23 |
| Observances | Flying of the St George's Cross |
St. George's Day is celebrated by several nations of whom Saint George is the patron saint, including Georgia, Bulgaria, Portugal, England, Catalonia and the Gora. For England, St. George's Day also marks its National Day. Most countries who observe St. George's Day celebrate it on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in 303. For those Eastern Orthodox Churches that follow the Julian Calendar, 23 April and 25 December are main holidays for St. George, according to the Gregorian Calendar. The Country of Georgia celebrates it on 23 November.
In 1969, Saint George's feast day was reduced to an optional memorial in the Roman Catholic calendar, and the solemnity of his commemoration depends purely on local observance. He is, however, still honoured as a saint of major importance by Eastern Orthodoxy. His feast date remains the second most important National Feast in Catalonia. There, it is known in Catalan as Diada de Sant Jordi and it is traditional to give a rose and a book to a loved one. This tradition inspired UNESCO to declare this the International Day of the Book, since 23 April 1616 was also the date of the death of the English playwright William Shakespeare (according to the Julian calendar) and the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes (according to the Gregorian calendar). Shakespeare died on his birthday, meaning the date was of double-barrelled significance.
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[edit] St. George's Day in Catholic and Protestant countries
[edit] St. George's Day in England
St. George's Day is not celebrated as much in England as other National Days are around the world. 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 the popularity of St. George's Day appears to be increasing gradually. BBC Radio 3 had a full programme of St. George's Day events in 2006. And Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, has been putting his argument forward in the House of Commons to try to 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, cricket and rugby means that this tradition too is losing popularity with people who do not associate themselves with those sports. 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.
There is a growing reaction to the recent indifference to St. George's Day. Organizations such as the Royal Society of Saint George (a non-political English 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. 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 there is no obvious consensus as to whom to replace him with, though names suggested include St. Edmund [1], St. Cuthbert, or St. Alban, with the latter having topped a [2] BBC Radio 4 poll on the subject. It does not seem likely that this will get any further.
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 traditionally the occasion when the Queen announces new appointments to the Order of the Garter.
[edit] St. George's Day in Spain
In Spain St. George's Day is celebrated in all the autonomous communities from the old Crown of Aragon: Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, with different intensity. St. George is the patron saint of Aragon, where he is known as San Jorge. In Catalonia it's a tradition to give a rose to women and a book to men.
[edit] St. George's Day in Orthodox Countries
St. George's Day is never celebrated during Lent or the Holy Week. Consequently in whichever year Easter is on April 23rd/6th May or later, St. George's Day is moved to Easter Monday.
[edit] St. George's Day in Bulgaria
Possibly the most celebrated name day in the country, St George's Day (Гергьовден, Gergyovden) is a public holiday that takes place on 6 May every year. A common ritual is to prepare a whole lamb and eat lamb, which is an ancient practice possibly related to Slavic pagan sacrificial traditions and the fact that he is the patron saint of the shepherds.
St. George's Day is also the Day of the Bulgarian Army (made official with a decree of Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria on 9 January 1880) and parades are organised in the capital Sofia to present the best of the army's equipment and manpower.
[edit] St. George's Day in Georgia
St. George's Day on November 23 is a public holiday in Georgia. Coincidentally, in 2003, the Rose Revolution reached its peak on St. George's Day when Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as President of Georgia.
[edit] St. George's Day in Serbia
In Serbia St. George's Day is called Đurđevdan (Serbian: Ђурђевдан) and is celebrated on 6 May every year. Đurđevdan is celebrated by Serbs not only in Serbia, but also in Republika Srpska and Montenegro. Đurđevdan is celebrated, especially, in the areas of Raska and Kosovo and Metohija in Serbia.
[edit] References in Literature
In the book Dracula by Bram Stoker, evil things are said to occur on St. George's Day, beginning at midnight. It should however be noted that the date of St. George's Day presented in the book, May 5th, is St. George's Day observed by the Eastern Orthodox churches (the difference between Gregorian and Julian calendars was one day less in 1897).
(Excerpt from Dracula, 1897) "Do you know what day it is?" I answered that it was the fourth of May. She shook her head as she said again: "Oh, yes! I know that, I know that! but do you know what day it is?" On my saying that I did not understand, she went on: "It is the eve of St George's Day. Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?"
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Website for Everything ENGLISH! www.stgeorgesday.com
- St. George Unofficial Bank Holiday website
- BBC Website: Across the Black Country, thousands of people have taken to the streets to mark St George's Day 2006.
- Essay on the tradition of St George's Day
- St George's Day Events company website
- The Royal Society of Saint George website
- St George's Day Events - Official Website for Tourism in England
- St George's Day, A collection of websites by The Guardian
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/content/articles/2006/09/21/st_edmund_2006_feature.shtml
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/results_stgeorge.shtml
