The 6 Facts about St George’s Day You Might Not Know

St George’s Day Frequently Asked Questions

3. What has St George got to do with a dragon?

Myth has it that St George slayed a dragon – by the way, this has nothing to do with the red dragon that appears on the Welsh flag.

The tale is that St George rode into Silene in what is modern-day Libya. The town had a small lake which had become home to a plague-bearing dragon who was poisoning the countryside. To satisfy the beast, the residents fed it two sheep a day. When the sheep ran out, it was decided the townsfolk would feed it their children, selected via a lottery draw.

One day, the king’s daughter was selected and despite his protest, she was sent to be sacrificed to the dragon. By complete coincidence, St George was riding past the town and came across the king’s daughter on her way to the dragon. The story goes that St George injured the beast with his lance and then controlled it by placing the princess’s girdle around the dragon’s neck.

St George killed the dragon only once the town agreed to convert to Christianity. However, this story postdates the real George for several centuries.

4. When and how did St George die?

In 303 AD, the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered a widespread persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire due to their growing support and influence. St George refused to renounce his Christian faith despite the emperor’s offers of wealth and land.

St George was executed by the orders of the Roman Emporer Diocletian in 303AD; he would have been in his late twenties. Historians commonly believe that over 3,000 Christians were executed by the orders of the emperor during this time.

5. What is St George, the patron saint of?

Although St. George is the patron saint of England, he never stepped foot in the country. However, tales of George’s heroism reached England, and his fame grew after the Crusades when it was reported he appeared before Crusaders outside Jerusalem in 109AD.

He became much loved by European knights and often appeared on banners taken into battles. St George’s flag was adopted as England’s official flag in 1190.

King Edward III made George the patron saint of England in 1350, and his name would be further concreted in history by King Henry V. Shakespeare ensured nobody would forget St George by writing King Henry V’s famous battle cry, “Cry God for Harry, England and St George!”

St George is also the patron saint of Bulgaria, Palestine, Ethiopia, Greece, and Lithuania. Some of you may remember St George as the patron saint of the Scouts Club from your childhood.

6. When is St George’s Day, and how is it celebrated?

The date of St George’s Day is believed to be the day he was executed in 303AD. In 1222, the Synod of Oxford declared St George’s Day a celebrated feast day in England, and ever since, it has featured on our calendars.

But why isn’t St George’s Day a bank holiday,, I hear you ask? Both Scotland and Ireland have bank holidays in celebration of their patron saints, St Andrew’s Day and St Patrick’s Day. The sad news is that St George’s Day used to be a public bank holiday, but it died out in the 18th century!