In recent years St George’s Day has undergone something of a revival. Yet each year St George’s Day is marked by hand-wringing and discomfort about the nature of English patriotism and national identity.
English Commonwealth applauds community efforts to celebrate St George’s Day but we note that some of these celebrations, in particular the street marches, point to an insecurity around English national identity indicative of a siege mentality. The revival of English national feeling and St George’s Day has not come about due to encouragement from the UK Government, quite the reverse; instead the growth has been reactionary, a counter-current to the state-sponsored Britishness and government ambivalence about English national identity.
It should not be that way.
St George’s Day should be a public holiday during which the population of England is encouraged by government to celebrate all that is good about English culture and heritage. It should not be beyond the wit of government to encourage and promote inclusive and positive celebrations of England’s national day. We would like to see St George’s Day as a family day on which children get free admission to England’s cultural institutions and attractions; on which there is a full slate of football and rugby fixtures; on which you can go and see Shakespeare in the park or watch a Dickens adaptation on the TV, and; on which there are food festivals celebrating English produce, and real ale festivals celebrating English ale and cider.
A day of cultural, community and charity events would be the perfect way to celebrate all that is good about England in an inclusive and positive way.
If we fail to work at constructing a common story which does justice to our rich and varied inheritance then we shall face a sectarian future. – Richard Chartres
About St George
St. George is one of the most popular Christian saints ever to have existed and has been venerated at different times in every Christian tradition, Eastern & Western. He even finds a place too in Islamic Hagiography, that gives him the honoured title of “Prophet”.
He is best known as the slayer of the dragon and saviour of the maiden but, although this story exists in a number of different medieval literary versions and artistic representations, it is without any historical foundation and does not seem to have existed before the 11th century.
There is, in fact, every reason to believe that George was a genuine martyr who suffered at Lydda before the time of Constantine. Indeed, certain accounts record his death to be in the year 307. It is written that George was an officer in the Roman army who, after giving his goods to the poor at the outbreak of persecution, confessing his Christian faith and refusing to sacrifice to the gods, suffered “terrible tortures” which lasted for seven years and was eventually beheaded.
In Jerusalem, a monastery was erected and dedicated to him in the fifth century. Pilgrims in the Holy land between the sixth and eighth centuries speak of Lydda as the main place associated with George’s cult (which resulted from his exploits) and final resting place of his relics – although the Coptic Church claims that these were transferred to Egypt and finally placed in the church dedicated to him in Old Cairo.
How he came to be regarded as patron of England is somewhat unclear, but he has been recognised here from at least the eighth century. His act of martyrdom was translated into Anglo-Saxon by Abbot Aelfric (c. 955-1020) and some pre-conquest churches were also dedicated to him (for example at Doncaster in 1061).
In 1222 a national synod at Oxford included a feast in George’s honour among their lesser holidays, but it was not until after the battle of Agincourt in 1415 that it was included as one of the major feasts of the year. In 1348, King Edward III introduced the battle cry “St. George for England” and later founded the Order of the Garter, with St. George as it’s patron.
George later went on to become patron saint of Venice, Genoa, Portugal and Catalonia and his cult also became strong in Russia and Ethiopia.
English Commonwealth 