23rd – St George’s Day (England)

Saber (em) Inglês

St George is patron saint of England and among the most celebrated of all Christian figures.He is the patron saint of England and symbol of  England’s national day. The banner of  St George, the red cross of a martyr on a white background, was adopted for the uniform of English soldiers possibly in the reign of Richard I.

As we know the St George’s Cross (a red cross on a white background) is England’s national flag and also part of the Union Jack.Little is known about the life of the man himself, the earliest source says:“Eusebius of Caesarea, writing c. 322, tells of a soldier of noble birth who was put to death under Diocletian at Nicomedia on 23 April, 303, but makes no mention of his name, his country or his place of burial. According to the apocryphal Acts of St George current in various versions in the Eastern Church from the fifth century, George held the rank of tribune in the Roman army and was beheaded by Diocletian for protesting against the Emperor's persecution of Christians.”Such deed made George venerated throughout Christendom as having set an example of strength, courage and bravery in defense of the destitute and the defenseless Christian followers.Legend has it that St George was a Roman soldier who bravely killed a dragon to rescue a princess, here is how it goes:

One day Saint George travelled to Libya, upon his arrival he found a large pond, almost as big as a lake, where a ferocious and evil dragon lived. The dragon was terrorising the country and, every day, folks had been feeding the dragon a sheep to appease and calm his fury. However, when the sheep were all gone, the dragon demanded that the people sacrifice a young girl to him each day.When Saint George realised that all the young girls had now been killed and only the King of Egypt’s daughter was left. Only a brave knight could save the maiden from the dragon, if actions were not taken, the princess would be sacrificed the next day.The King of Egypt had promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to brave man who could defeat the dreadful dragon.  Saint George, in his will to do good, was determined to save the princess and he rode out to the lake on the next day.
When he arrived, he found the poor princess, waiting to be fed to the dragon. Saint George approached the dragon’s cave… When the huge dragon heard Saint George’s horse approaching, he came out of his cave and roared like thunder.Saint George was not afraid for he would not let the princess be killed that day!So he struck the monster with his sharp spear, but the dragon’s scales were so very hard that the spear broke into pieces. Saint George insisted upon his intent and though he fell from his horse but did not give up. Instead, he rushed at the dragon and used his sword to hit the dragon under its wing where no scales could be found. The dragon fell dead at Saint George’s feet and the princess was saved…

Ilda Camarneira

References:

BBC News. (s/d) St. George. Disponível em http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1708750.stm

BBC News. (s/d) St. George. Disponível em http://www.express.co.uk/pictures/galleries/2691/27-things-you-didn-t-know-about-St-George-s-Day-England-pictures/Children-in-St-George-s-Day-fancy-dress-at-Wrest-Park-St-George-s-Day-Festival-Bedfordshire-58142

Scholastic. (s/d) http://www.scholastic.co.uk/assets/a/20/a9/dragon-pcps-217327.pdf.

St. George. (s/d) http://www.britannia.com/history/stgeorge.html