Saint George’s Day

Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George It is celebrated by various Christian churches and by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. Saint George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303.

Today, St George's day may be celebrated with anything English from Morris dancing to a Punch and Judy show. Additional celebrations may involve the commemoration of the 23 April as Shakespeare's birthday/death.

HISTORY

• A traditional custom on St George's day is to wear a red rose

• Another custom is to fly the St George's Cross flag • 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.

• Traditional English foods and drink (e.g. afternoon tea) may be consumed.

tradicions

• Countries that celebrate St George's Day include England, Canada, Croatia, Portugal, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Macedonia… Cities include Moscow in Russia, Genova in Italy, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Victoria in Malta and many others. It is also celebrated in the old Crown of Aragon in Spain—Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, and Majorca.

• The St George's Day is also known as Georgemas.• It is the second most important National Feast in Catalonia,

where the day is known in Catalan as La Diada de Sant Jordi.• Under the state atheism of former Eastern Bloc countries, the

celebration of Saint George's Day was historically suppressed.

Celebrations

There was a ambience with stirring hymns that including ‘Jerusalem’, ‘I Vow to Thee my Country’ and ‘There’ll Always be an England’. Poems by two English poets, Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Glory of the Garden’ and ‘Home – thoughts from abroad’ by Robert Browning, together with bible readings, prayers and an informative talk about St George. I després s'acaba amb l'himne nacional.

• The Scout movement has been celebrating St George's Day on 23 April since its first years, and St George is the patron saint of many other organisations.

Organisations

• In the book, Dracula by Bram Stoker, evil things are said to occur on St George's Day, beginning at midnight. The date of St George's Day presented in the book, 5 May (on the Western, Gregorian Calendar), is St George's Day as observed by the Eastern Orthodox churches.

In literature