Yesterday was St George's Day and I saw more places with the flag of St George (a red cross on a white background) outside than I have for years. Not since England was doing well in the World Cup a decade or more ago. Cafes, pubs, churches, schools and all sorts of places - some of them with long strings of multiple flags. Public buildings normally fly the Union Jack at full mast on St George's Day but for some reason Heswall Fire Station had two flags out - A Union Jack at Full mast and a Union Jack at half mast. How strange.
I heard St George's day mentioned in passing on Swedish Radio yesterday. Made me realize I don't know much about it, really. Like WHY that is England's National Day?
ReplyDeleteI quote from Wikipedia -
ReplyDeleteIn England the earliest dedication to George, who was mentioned among the martyrs by Bede, is a church at Fordington, Dorset, that is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great. "Saint George and his feast day began to gain more widespread fame among all Europeans, however, from the time of the Crusades."[35] The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Geonoese fleet during the Crusades and the English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege