Saint George's Day

Summary

When? 23 April
Where? England
How? Garlands and flags (of England), some towns organise some festivities. 

History

On this day the English patron, Saint George, is remembered and celebrated. St George, strangely enough, was not English and he probably never set foot in England.

One of the most famous legends about St George is that he slayed a dragon. Legend has it that George arrived upon a village where a dragon was terrorising the local people. To keep the creature satisfied, they had begun to sacrifice a sheep per day to feed its hunger until they no longer had any sheep. The King then decided that they must sacrifice the local children to keep the dragon at bay.

Each day, the sacrifice was chosen by lottery until the King's daughter was selected. As she was being led to the dragon, George came by. Horrified by what he discovered, he offered to slay the dragon. During his battle with the dragon, George noticed a vulnerable patch of skin under its arm and charged forward with his sword, slaying the beast.

The villagers held a huge feast in his honor and the feast day of Saint George is celebrated each year in tribute to his bravery. You might know this story as 'Joris and the Dragon'. 

St George was born in what is now Turkey. He joined the Roman army - at the age of 17 - and became a guard to the Roman emperor. In the Roman Empire Christians were treated badly and St George protested against this. He was put in prison and tortured because of his religion. He refused to give up Christianity and was, therefore, executed 23 April 303.

St George's cross is the symbol of the patron saint. It is a red cross on a white background. This symbol became known as the English flag and is part of the Union Jack. On St George's Day some people hang this flag outside. Today the holiday is not as popular as it used to be. People can go to the fair in some towns or they go to church.

St George is also an important religious figure to many different countries and regions. Aragon (region in Spain), Ethiopia, Greece and Russia are only a few of the countries that celebrate him as well.