If you were planning on waving your St George’s Day flag to celebrate England’s patron saint today, you will be surprised to learn you have the wrong date.
St George’s Day is usually celebrated on April 23 each year, but the Church of England put back the date to Monday April 28 because no saint’s day can take place in the week before or after Easter.
A note issued by the church states: ‘When St George’s Day or St Mark’s Day falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter.
‘If both fall in this period, St George’s Day is transferred to the Monday and St Mark’s Day to the Tuesday.’
In 2019, politicians including Sir Keir Starmer, then Prime Minister Theresa May and London Mayor Sadiq Khan all posted a message on the wrong date.
It led to a church historian branding politicians as ‘illiterate about Christianity’.
Why do we celebrate St George’s Day?
It’s our national day and an Anglican and Catholic festival.
St George became a legendary figure for his courage and bravery – even though he never actually set foot in England.
However, he wasn’t English and, no, he didn’t slay a dragon.
Very little is known about the real man, although it is thought he was Greek, born in the third century in what was then Syria Palaestina.
He was a Roman soldier turned Christian martyr.
It is believed he protested against the persecution of Christians and was subsequently tortured and killed because of his religion.
Last year an event to mark St George’s Day in London descended into chaos after attendees broke through a cordon and started fighting with police.
A number of groups believed to be linked to football hooligan firms and the far-right travelled across the UK to march on Whitehall today to commemorate St George’s day.
But the Metropolitan Police were forced to intervene as attendees broke through the a barrier an hour before the event began and started attacking officers, prompting the Met to respond by deploying mounted officers to keep the peace.
Footage from the event showed crowds blocking the road while chanting ‘England til I die,’ while one attendee was spotted attacking a police horse with an umbrella.
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