Christian Holidays · Eastertide
St George's Day
The feast of the soldier-martyr of the dragon legend, patron saint of England and many other places.
When: 23 April (moved to a later day when it falls between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter)
Origin and history
George was an early Christian martyr. According to tradition he was a soldier in the Roman army, of Greek family from Cappadocia, who was put to death during the persecution under the emperor Diocletian for refusing to give up his Christian faith; his traditional death date is 23 April 303. Very little is known for certain about his life. The famous legend of Saint George and the Dragon first appears in an 11th-century Georgian source and reached Latin Europe in the 12th century; it was spread widely by the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine in the 13th century. Since the Crusades he has been honoured especially as a soldier saint.
George is the main patron saint of England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Catalonia, Aragon and Genoa, among other places, and an important patron of Greece, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
Customs
- In Catalonia, the Diada de Sant Jordi is a day for giving roses and books; streets fill with book and flower stalls.
- Aragon celebrates its regional day.
- The country of Georgia keeps the feast on 23 April and, more prominently, on 10 November in the Julian calendar.
How traditions differ
Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic calendars keep the feast on 23 April, but when it falls in Holy Week or Easter week it is moved later. Eastern Orthodox churches likewise move it, to the Monday after Easter, when it falls before Easter.
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More in Eastertide
Easter · How the date of Easter is set · Ascension Day · Pentecost
Sources checked: Saint George's Day (Wikipedia); Saint George (Wikipedia). Notes: Details of his life come from tradition; historians agree only that he was an early martyr.