Bubbles Translation Services Blog
St. George's Day
Most nations across the world have their own Patron Saint. St. David is the Patron Saint of Wales, St. Andrew of Scotland and St. Patrick of Ireland - St. George being the Patron Saint of England. This year, St. Georges Day will be May 2nd; this is because Easter falls a lot later this year.
Countries that celebrate St. George's Day include England, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Macedonia. Cities include Moscow, Genova, Ljubljana, Beirut, Qormi and Victoria in Malta and many others. Most of the countries that observe St. George's Day celebrate it on 23rd April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in 303AD.
There are many cultural legends about St. George, but they all share a common theme; he must have been quite the character in his lifetime for his reputation to have survived for almost 1,700 years!
But the question is who was St. George, and what did he do to become England's Patron Saint?
The story goes that St. George killed a dragon on Dragon Hill in Uffington, Berkshire, and it is said that no grass grows where the dragon had bled to death! King Edward III made him the Patron Saint of England and Shakespeare made sure that nobody would forget, by including a famous quote in King Henry V play: 'Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'
St. George's Day is still celebrated on 23rd April all over England, but the cross of St. George is also present at World Cup football games. The commemoration of St. George's Day is currently fairly low key in England and much more celebrated elsewhere in the world - but that doesn't stop people from flying their flags and having a nice time enjoying the day.
An interesting piece of trivia - Shakespeare was born on St. George's Day 1564, and if the story is to be believed, died on St. George's Day, 1616. An appropriate end perhaps for the man who helped to immortalise the Saint in English tradition.
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