Happy St George's day.

Jibbs, I appreciate your sentiment - thank you.

Okay I accept that St George may be a little fictitious and he may be the patron saint of many other european countries but hey - so is Father Christmas and we can't live without him.

Anyone who likes lakes and mountains -this site is full of classic Lake District:

www.leaney.org...

St George is a representation of our English heritage.
The facts are really pretty irrelevant.
St Patrick wasn't Irish and St Andrew wasn't Scottish.

It is about being proud of our English heritage and identity.

My English pride I will not hide.
My English race I will not disgrace.
My English blood flows hot and true.
My English people I will stand by you.

Through thick and thin till the day we die our English pride stands so high.

reply to post by Jibbs



Many other nations and towns around Europe and the world are also "patronised" by St. George, you know?

reply to post by Freeborn


This is true.. for some reason countries tend to pick saints that had nothing to do with their country..

The Irish I can sort of understand... no wait... I cannot..

Naomh Pádraig was British.. he was then made a slave by the Irish, he goes back to England, becomes learned in the Church, goes back to Ireland where there is actually very little information that he did anything for anyone, aside convert and in some cases perhaps kill pagans, in the end it was the first british man to conquer Ireland -- through religion.

Seems pretty ignorant to me..

But reading on St. George, I don't see any connection what so ever to England..

Never even visited your little island..

So when did the English fascination with George come about?

reply to post by Rockpuck


I honestly don't know Rock.

As stated peviously there is a very small movement which wants to change England's Patron Saint to St Edmund.

Me,
I think people are missing the point; it is a celebration of all things English just as St Patricks day is a uniting bond for all Irish people to celebrate "Irishness" or Bastille Day in France or July 4th in the US.

I'm not bothered what we call the day just as long as we have a day and we celebrate it properly, something that is just starting to happen, St George's Day has gone uncelebrated for too long.

reply to post by Freeborn


Ya know at one point St. Patricks day was celebrated just about as big as St Georges day..

Actually from what I gather, St paddys day only gained a reputation for drinking, party'n and carrying on in America, and then went back to Ireland (capitalist saw the profit)

Even looking at tourism trade information not until the 90's did St paddys day become the unofficial start to the tourist season in Ireland because of the "holiday"

Ironic that it was all started by simple minded Americans who had this odd vision of leprechauns, magical saints (of which they know nothing of his history) and clovers..

Seriously..

Is THAT what you want your Patron Saints day turned into? College kids getting trashed wearing English memorabilia and singing English songs they will only listen to one day a year?

Sure might bring in more money for the English economy, and naturally in America we will have to celebrate it to as we only fashion our ideas of other nations based on how big of a party they throw..

In the end, I don't think it will be celebrating anything remotely English .. just like the Irish, a disturbed and polluted image that will then be associated to your English name.

reply to post by Jibbs


Thank you Jibbs - and the same to all who reflected the sentiment. Right now, national pride is probably lower in the UK than the US - but for most, there's no alternative.

Mass immigration has pretty much watered English culture down, but it's stil there if you look for it.

It appears that many people leave a country they are not happy with, come to the UK and try to turn it into the country they left behind. Many of them come over to take advantage of the social benefits system - and European human rights laws dictate that they have the right to do so.

The problem is of course that the UK is a relatively small country with very limited resoursces. Imports are becoming more costly and the tax burden on our working population is crippling.

Resulting apathy and an underlying feeling of hopelessness leads us to wonder what there is left to be proud of any more.

Still, there must be something good about this place, otherwise nobody would want to come here.

Best wishes to you all

Myrdyn

This kind of sums it up for me
And despite some doomsayers I don't think we're in that bad a position really

This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

reply to post by Rockpuck


No Rock, the last thing I would want is it to turn it into some parody of the commercialised event St Paddy's day has become, but, if it increases awareness and interest in English heritage and pride it may be a necessary evil.

English pride has been supressed for far too long and the PC brigade have been succesful in branding English pride as racism , only in England could this happen.

On St Patricks Day newscasters will wear a shamrock, St Davids day they sport a little daffodil and on St Andrews day they wear thistles.
Barely a mention of St George's day and absolutely no display of Englishness.

When our Scottish, Irish and Welsh compatriots publicly display their national pride they are viewed as proud and patriotic; when we English do the same we are portrayed as arrogant and racist, we are neither.

[edit on 24/4/08 by Freeborn]

reply to post by Freeborn


I agree...

But that is Liberalization for you mate..

Originally posted by Freeborn
St George is a representation of our English heritage.
The facts are really pretty irrelevant.
St Patrick wasn't Irish and St Andrew wasn't Scottish.

It is about being proud of our English heritage and identity.

Facts are, indeed, usually irrelevant in this country. Yes. On this we can agree. I hear they made a giant opium statue of St. George yesterday and gave it away to the kids to smoke after all ceremonies had been held.

Charming, no?

Originally posted by Freeborn
My English pride I will not hide.
My English race I will not disgrace.
My English blood flows hot and true.
My English people I will stand by you.

Through thick and thin till the day we die our English pride stands so high.

Good grief... Tell me that it isn't so. You'll probably all brand me as a traitor for this, but at least I'm not a fool.