One of these things that not a lot of people know. St George’s Day is a moveable feast. Rather typical of the English to have fussy little rules which no one ever does quite explain but which everyone is has to just find out from experience. You know, rather like a Bateman cartoon of the man who didn’t know that….
The thing being that the English Day, St George and all that, it’s supposedly on 23 April. Except it’s a Church feast, thus being something that gets moved around by Easter. Can’t be having mere Saints being drunk to during Easter Week. Therefore the 23 rd gets moved when Easter is late, as this year. Meaning that the Church of England celebrated the dragonslayer yesterday.
But then no one believes in the CoE any more, a not unusual event as the CoE is rather defined by not believing in anything. The largest Christian denomination in England that does have an actual faith is thus the Catholic one, meaning that today is the correct day for this:
Huzzah, this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England etc.
The reason being?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] While some people in England have been celebrating St George’s Day with parades, Morris dancing and flags, others will have to wait a week. As the saint’s day falls in Easter week this year, churches have put celebrations on hold. Anglicans will mark the patron saint’s day on Monday 29 April, while Catholics will transfer the day to 30 April. [/perfectpullquote]Agreed, it does rather grate that us left footers have to wait that another day. For when the days get shifted you can’t put a lesser one on top of a greater. Given that 29 April is Catherine of Sienna George can’t be that day. And Catherine is patron saint of Europe – spit.
Still, no one ever said it was going to be easy being English, just righteous, just, and holder of the winning lottery ticket of life by simple reason of such birth.
/jingo
Hmm! You think that all Roman Candles have faith but Anglicans attending services do not – that is a bit outdated since the Squire no longer sits in a boxed pew looking down on his tenants. Nowadays only the faithful attend Anglican churches despite the burdens placed upon the Established Church to care for the apathetic and non-Christians in the community [some Roman Catholic churches volunteer to share this burden but it is not demanded of them as it is of Anglicans]. The only comparison that I can find is that the number of Anglicans attending church is about 10%… Read more »
You might be taking my tongue in cheek asides a little too seriously….
Sorry – didn’t realise you wwere tongue-in-cheek – some people are making that claim seriously.