Just another ‘Day’

~ beetleypete

Today is the national day of England, and of our patron saint, St George. It is not a public holiday, and hardly gets noticed, or mentioned. Lost in a sea of days that are better celebrated, like ‘Stroke your cat day’, ‘Eat a doughnut day’, or ‘Arabic transgender literature day’, that’s understandable.

Think of something, and there’s a day for it. Social Media is awash with ‘Days’, but the national day of England avoids the limelight. Irish people everywhere anticipate St Patrick’s Day with relish, and in America, The Fourth of July is the biggest day of the year. However, in England, our ‘stiff upper lips’ prevent us from making a show, letting off fireworks, or dyeing our beer red and white.

So for those of you who didn’t know, and for the few that think it still has any traditional relevance.

HAPPY ST GEORGE’S DAY!

FLAG

60 thoughts on “Just another ‘Day’”

  4. I don’t know how to put this tactfully, but if the twit finds out about your Arabic transgender literature day, he is libel to send a twitter storm your way–Duck.
    Warmest regards on your most cherished bank holiday, Theo

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  6. Thanks for sharing this, Pete – the comments are great as well as they give more context…Columbus Day is under attack here in the US, due to his “invading” our country rather than “discovering” it…I actually don’t disagree with more awareness regarding how America came to be, but there is a LOT of “navel gazing” these days about everything!

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    1. I just checked, and as I suspected, chose Oliver Cromwell instead. I try to post about this every year, in the hope that someone will get the idea to make it a public holiday. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  12. Here in the Munich Residence St. George will be celebrated on saturday, 28th of April. The Knights of the Bavarian Order of St. George, founded by the Bavarian Wittelsbach ruling dynasty in the 18th century, have their annual meeting with a church service in the court chapel, three young candidates will be beaten knights by the Grandmaster of the Order, Duke Franz of Bavaria. I love this celebration!

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  13. I remember we had to acknowledge the day in the brussel sprouts and church parade on the nearest Sunday. I can’t remember if the Beeb play the national anthem for it on the “wireless” any more, but no one pays much attention to the anthem either. You remember when they played it in cinemas at the end of the show? Most left before it was over.

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    1. My Dad always made me stand in the cinema until it had finished, BF. Talking of which, it is such an awful national anthem. I think we should have ‘Jerusalem’ instead, though that might confuse some people. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Or maybe they ought to ask Sir Paul McCartney to write something fresher, while he’s still with us. I’d like something that could be arranged for ukulele. The good thing about the uke is it can make a sad song sound cheerful, and a cheerful one sound sad. And it’s not a tuba or trombone, so we won’t have any of that marching band ostentatiousness. 🙂

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        1. You have got me thinking about George Formby now, so I have written this, to the tune of ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’. (No chance I would use Macca, can’t stand him)

          All together now!

          “Now we’re all feeling English
          Cos that’s a great country (sung as countree)
          And we can’t think of anything that we would rather be

          There’s nowhere else we’d ever miss
          When we’re feeling English.

          We have Fish and Chips and pies and beer
          And even a cream tea
          Frenchies do not like our grub, but we eat it with good cheer

          There’s nowhere else we’d ever miss
          When we’re feeling English

          People love to come here, from each and every land
          And even though we hate them, they just don’t understand
          As for those Europeans, they all know very well
          We don’t like them either, and we’ve told them “Go to Hell”

          There’s nowhere else we’d ever miss
          When we’re feeling English”

          I can see it now. Formby impersonators at the front, everyone in the audience with a toy ukulele, ‘Last Night Of the Proms’ for the 21st century. Brings a tear to my eye.

          Now, who do I send it to?

          Best wishes, Pete.

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            1. Good to hear. I’m very anti-Macca!
              I have lots more verses, but it’s too long for a comment reply. Not bad for spur of the moment, but I might work on it before sending it for consideration…

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  14. He is also the patron Saint of Germany, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Palestine, Ethiopia, Serbia, Slovinia, Lithuania, Portugal, Malta and Montenegro. perhaps he is too multi-cultural for our “anti-foreigner” brigade to celebrate. Plus he wasn’t even English! 😀

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  16. Oh look! They gave up! I can log in again.

    Anyway. Don’t you think that it’s a bit anachronistic to have a patron saint for a country? Especially for England, whose established church doesn’t really ‘do’ saints very much, leaving that particular idolatry for the Catholic church.

    So. Happy St George’s Day to you, too.

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    1. Of course I do, Ian. I just wanted an extra public holiday. Besides, I had to counter things like ‘Adopt A Locust Day’.

      (By the way, I found your other blog, and your comment yesterday was in Spam. It is on the post now.)
      Cheers, Pete.

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      2. I’m not against more public holidays, but if we are going to have one, it should be St Andrew’s day. Filling in that huge gap between August and Christmas. Or Guy Fawkes Day – to celebrate the last person to enter parliament with noble intent.

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  17. Well, I for one am very grateful to you good folks, for Mr. Churchill, and the R.A.F. and for your fighting back the Nazi hordes so we frivolous colonists weren’t fated to be goose stepping to the local cinema. Hurray for England, for Steed and Mrs. Peel.

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    1. I write something about it most years, chuq. It was ‘hijacked’ by the Far Right here. Neo-Nazi groups like The League Of St.George, British National Party, and Column 88 used the English flag as their symbol. Many people became uncomfortable about celebrating being English, as it had racist overtones so was watered-down by the politically correct.
      In some ways, it is like the association of The Stars and Bars with The Confederacy, and slavery.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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