Saint
George’s day
Saint George’s day is one day which has not
tended to be celebrated much in England which leads to comparisons with the saint
days of others in the United Kingdom. Of course every saint’s day when it comes
to patron saints has two aspects, the religious and the national. In most of
these cases the national is the most important.
For instance the great comparison in
celebrations is that of Saint Patrick’s Day. Even in London it is celebrated
more than Saint George’s day. Many Irish pubs are undertaking special
promotions. Before that there are several evenings with Irish dancers in many
of the pubs. The Guinness flows, many of them offer free food usually Irish stew
or Boiled Bacon, Cabbage and Potatoes. Irish bands play and there is a
procession in London. For many it is an excuse for good old knees up! Many of
the people attending are not Irish and it can be seen as a part of the cultural
diversity of the country. Celebrations are also held in cities like Manchester
and Birmingham. There is a large commercial presence as well and many firms are
looking on it as a way to make vast profits. Of course the celebration does not
necessarily have a lot to do with religion although many catholic churches will
give out free shamrocks and have services on that day. Saint Patrick as the
person who brought Christianity to Ireland is not mentioned much. Incidentally
Saint Patrick is also the patron Saint of Nigeria and a large Nigerian
community exists in London as well.
Saint George’s day is however far less
celebrated and has often in the past been associated with politics of the
extreme right-wing variety. This has however begun to change and for a good
reason. While it is a source of grievance for many English people that in this
Kingdom of four nations England is the one where it is least acceptable to show
pride in the country is due to this fact. Of course England by sheer force of
numbers tends to dominate the country and this has led to celebrations of
Englishness being seen as less acceptable.
In the last ten years however, the celebration of Saint George’s day has
become more and more acceptable. Increasingly it is being seen as an inclusive
day for all. That is something to be welcomed and festivals are now officially
held on the day celebrating the best of England.
Of course on a religious level Saint George
became identified with England later mainly because his legendary fight with
the dragon was thought to epitomize the medieval virtues of chivalry. He was a
martyr from what is now Turkey and never set foot in England. He became the
patron saint of England in the fourteenth century replacing Saint Edward the
confessor and the previous Saint Edmund the martyr. He is also the patron saint
of Georgia, Portugal and Malta among others and his patronage is quite common..
Still it is at least now permissible to show
the symbols of England in way it was not
twenty years ago and Saint George fills one of those roles, along with the
English flag. This can only be a welcome change.
