St George's day - patriotism or an excuse to wag work?
Happy St George's day!
Every year the same email does the rounds around this time, asking people to sign the petition to make St George's day a national holiday. Now I'm all for an extra day off work, but does anyone who signs this petition or forwards the email actually know the meaning of St George's day or have any interest in religion? I know that it's not just a celebration of St George, the patron saint of England, it's also a day to celebrate everything English, but who actually 'celebrates' the day? We're not like the Irish, who make a big deal out of St Patrick's day are we? So, in honour of St George and the various meanings of today I have decided to do two things. Firstly, share a few bits of trivia about St George and St George's day that I, myself, didn't know until now and secondly, share a few of my opinions on what it means to be British (which should be interesting as I am obviously a BBC - British Born Chinese... and not even that strictly speaking as I'm only half Chinese, the other half being of Irish blood!)
So, St George trivia... here's a few interesting morsels...
Every year the same email does the rounds around this time, asking people to sign the petition to make St George's day a national holiday. Now I'm all for an extra day off work, but does anyone who signs this petition or forwards the email actually know the meaning of St George's day or have any interest in religion? I know that it's not just a celebration of St George, the patron saint of England, it's also a day to celebrate everything English, but who actually 'celebrates' the day? We're not like the Irish, who make a big deal out of St Patrick's day are we? So, in honour of St George and the various meanings of today I have decided to do two things. Firstly, share a few bits of trivia about St George and St George's day that I, myself, didn't know until now and secondly, share a few of my opinions on what it means to be British (which should be interesting as I am obviously a BBC - British Born Chinese... and not even that strictly speaking as I'm only half Chinese, the other half being of Irish blood!)
So, St George trivia... here's a few interesting morsels...
- St George is not only the patron saint of England. He is also the patron saint for Catalonia (Spain), Portugal, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Macedonia.
- St George's day is also the date arguably one of the greatest English playwrights died, William Shakespeare.
- A traditional custom on St George's day was to wear a red rose in one's lapel.
- In Catalonia in Spain, St George's day is celebrated similarly to St Valentine's day with men giving roses and women giving books.
- St George was a soldier of the Roman Empire, from the then Greek-speaking Anatolia, now modern day Turkey, and wasn't English at all.
- St George was ordered to persecute Christians, but instead confessed being a Christian himself and was tortured and beheaded.
- St George is famous for slaying a dragon, a legend brought back by crusaders.
- St George is protector of the small Maltese island of Gozo.
- Tea, of course. Everything is fixed with a cup of tea.
- The royal family. Where would we be without our national obsession, whether we love them or hate them.
- Sunburn. Going lobster red on holiday and getting totally sunburnt, but being very proud of your sunburn lines and white bits.
- Big Ben. A globally recognised London landmark.
- Red double decker buses.
- Black taxi cabs.
- Fish and chips.
- Cricket. Yes, it's British, and yes, we're rubbish at it.
- Rain. Goes without saying.
- Page 3 girls.
- London tabloids. The world over knows about our trashy newspapers and slanderous stories.
- Binge drinking and beer. Maybe not what we want to be famous for but it's a fact.
- Chavs and hoodies. Bring out the reebok trainers, polo shirts, baseball caps and gold jewellery. Cringe.
- Sunday roasts. Whether it's chicken, lamb or beef, there HAS to be gravy and there HAS to be yorkshire puddings!
- Football. Hooliganism or David Beckham, we're both notorious and famous in the footballing world.
Comments
1 Miss Marple!
1a All things Agatha Christie and the sheer delight we take in thinking up and unfolding intricate ways to bump each other off.
2 Hot Cross Buns ( toasted with a scraping of butter )mmmmm
3 Cream Teas or any other tea time treat. Tea is awesome and is made even more awesome when it is complimented by a scone with fresh strawberry jam and a dollop of thick cream. It is goes exceptionaly well with most cakes (fruit cake, victoria sponge, chocolate brownies) and pretty much all biscuits.
3a Thinking about it I feel the Victoria sponge deserves it's own entry.
4 In-between meals such as High Tea and Elevenses. Rarely adhered to these days due to the busy schedule of modern living. This is a shame. If we all stopped for elevenses (as a child I remember that this involved orange squash) I'm sure we would be a lot happier to go back to work and take lunch a little later. It is healthy you know... little and often!
5 Roses, all quintessentially English Gardens should contain roses.
6 Queues, I'm pretty sure we invented this custom. It goes along with good old P's and Q's and proper manners. Some of the chavist delinquents today have not been taught how it works due to the fact that their parents are themselves chavist and deliquant and so incur the wrath of us well mannered English people who appreciate the need to wait in line.
7 Yorkshore Puddings
8 Apple Sauce
9 Marmite
10 Bowler Hats and Braces
11 Expressions such as...
'Keeping a stiff upper lip'
'Old Chap'
'Good Grief'
'Bother'
'Mind your Ps and Qs'
'Spiffing'
'Ripping'
'Bad/Good form'
(some of these are thankfully no longer in use)
12 Playing Bridge. I have no idea how to play it but the English upper classes seem to get born with the rules and strategy of play as standard.
13 Sir Frances Drake. Privateer, Slave Trader, Politician and Hero to the English... Pirate to the Spanish. Known as El Draque to the spanish meaning Dragon as a play on his family name. He was second in command of the English Fleet against the Spanish Armada. One of those ridiculously influencial historical figures who helped shape the way of the world for many more years that they were upon it... in this case simply by annoying the spanish.
note, the term Ps and Qs is derived from an english publican saying that meant one should mind the details. Ps and Qs refers to Pints and Quarts, something a good publican would want to keep well under control.
Have a Good St Georges Day thinking about all things English :)
DANGER MOUSE!
I think you'll find I had included yorkshire puds already, under the sunday roast entry on the list. I had thought of adding bowler hats until I actually thought about it and realised I can't remember the last time I SAW anyone in a bowler hat... figured it was a bit outdated steretypical so left it out.
Oh, and Miss Marple is just you being Miss Marple crazy... haha
SPOTTED DICK!
hehehe