Celebrate St George’s Day on 23rd April. Despite St George’s patronage of England, he was not an Englishman. It is believed that he was born in Cappadocia (now southern Turkey) to Christian parents. As an adult, he became a high-ranking soldier in the Roman army. His name is synonymous with bravery and honour. He defied the Emperor Diocletian’s orders to persecute Christians, which resulted in his own gruesome torture and execution.
The Story of St George and the Dragon
The Golden Legend (a Thirteenth Century text) tells the story of St George visiting Silene, a city plagued by a dragon. Every day the dragon had to be fed so that it would not attack the people. Initially, the dragon was satisfied with livestock. Once all livestock had been devoured, the city had no choice but to offer up a daily human sacrifice.
On the day that St George was passing through the city, the Princess had been presented to the dragon as the sacrifice. The Princess warned St George to leave her before the dragon also killed him, but he refused and bravely fought the dragon. Drawing his sword, St George adorned the dragon with the sign of the cross, rode towards it thrusting his spear into the beast and dragged it to the ground. St George instructed the Princess to lead the dragon into the city and it timidly followed her. When people saw the dragon walking further into the city, they feared for their lives, but St George told them not to be afraid and promised to kill the dragon if they were all baptised.
The King and all his people were baptised and true to his word, St George slayed the dragon. A great way to celebrate St George’s Day and retell this story to children is with a puppet show. Simple finger puppets can be made using felt offcuts and measuring a strip of felt to sew onto the back of each puppet that is big enough for each of the puppeteer’s fingers.
An English Feast for St George’s Day
Mark the St George’s Day with a few classic English dishes. Start with some slow-cooked ham hock and homemade piccalilli (that can be made months ahead). For your main course, there are very few dishes that are more quintessentially English than fish and chips. For those with room for pudding, serve up a sweet treacle tart with a sharp lemon cream.