Saint George's Day

Origins and history

George is remembered as a soldier put to death in the Diocletianic Persecution, and his feast is traditionally fixed on the day of his death. In England his name appears in writings from the 8th century, and a ninth-century liturgical book also notes the day. A stone at Fordington in Dorset is said to record a vision of him leading crusaders. Historians once thought a 1222 synod at Oxford gave the feast its standing, but the oldest copies of that ruling make no mention of it. Canterbury in 1415 and York in 1421 raised the feast to a double major, when work stopped and attendance at church was required. Under Pope Pius XII and Pope John XXIII the rank was lowered.

How it is kept

Observance begins in church, with a service or a mass in Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Orthodox congregations. In England people raise the St George's Cross and pubs hang small crossed flags; Scout troops parade; choirs often sing the hymn Jerusalem. Swedish churches hold a mass on the Sunday nearest the date, and a ballad about the saint is broadcast across the country at noon. In Hungary, as it was kept in the past, the day opened with protective charms for people, animals and homes, and ended with a feast; shepherds were hired and given food and drink.

Hungarian spring customs

In Hungary the day was one of the largest celebrations of the year, with a feast that could outdo a wedding. People walked in the woods and bathed as part of rituals, and treated the date as the start of true spring. They believed witches gathered on hills such as Gellért Hill for a sabbath. Twigs of willow or birch were placed at windows and in stables, incense was burned, and onion strings were hung up to keep curses away. Animals were fed herbs and special pogácsa. Cattle were driven past chains or axes, or through fire in Szeklerland, to guard them and encourage fertility. Shepherds were hired that day and given eggs, bacon, wine and pálinka.

Around the world

Georgia keeps the feast twice. Besides 23 April, it marks a November date with more ceremony, which by the western calendar falls in May until the year 2100. In Newfoundland and Labrador the day is a provincial holiday, taken on the Monday nearest 23 April. Rio de Janeiro, Alcoi and Genoa all count George as their chief patron, and Palestine keeps his feast as well. Russia's Orthodox church remembers a church consecrated to him in Kiev in 1051, on a date in late November. Elsewhere, from the Balkans to the eastern Mediterranean, he is honoured as an important patron rather than the principal one.

Today and change

In England the day was a public holiday on the scale of Christmas from about the early 1400s, then faded after England and Scotland were joined at the end of the 18th century. Interest has grown again since. Heritage groups and a society named for the saint have urged more celebration. Salisbury holds a yearly pageant that is thought to reach back to the 13th century. Political figures have argued for a public holiday, and a London mayor ran a campaign to encourage celebration in 2009. Some people question whether George should remain England's patron, since he had no direct link with the country, and Edmund the Martyr, Cuthbert of Lindisfarne and Alban have been suggested instead.

How Saint George's Day is kept

Observance begins in church, with a service or a mass in Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Orthodox congregations. In England people raise the St George's Cross and pubs hang small crossed flags; Scout troops parade; choirs often sing the hymn Jerusalem. Swedish churches hold a mass on the Sunday nearest the date, and a ballad about the saint is broadcast across the country at noon. In Hungary, as it was kept in the past, the day opened with protective charms for people, animals and homes, and ended with a feast; shepherds were hired and given food and drink.

When and where

The usual date is 23 April, the day tradition gives for George's death. When that date lands in Holy Week or the week after Easter, churches move it, usually to the Monday after Easter week. Some Orthodox churches keep other dates as well, and Georgia holds a second, larger feast in November.

The feast belongs to Christian churches worldwide and is strongest where George is a patron: England, Georgia, Catalonia and Aragon, Palestine, and the Italian and Brazilian cities of Genoa and Rio de Janeiro. He is also an important patron in several Balkan and eastern Mediterranean countries, and in Sweden and Hungary the day has its own customs.

What Saint George's Day means

For the churches, George stands for courage and faith held to the point of death, and his feast is a day of prayer rather than of obligation or feasting alone. In England his cross became a national sign, flown on flagpoles and printed on pub garlands. For Hungarians the date carried power: the turning of the year towards warmth, the start of herding, and a night when spells were thought to work and had to be guarded against.

Questions people ask about Saint George's Day

See also

CandlemasA Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas seasonPresentation of Jesus at the TempleA February feast of candles and welcome, kept forty days after ChristmasSt John's EveBonfires, feasting and worship on the short night before John the Baptist's feastTwelfth NightThe closing evening of the Christmas season, kept with cake, carols and wassail

Good reading and sources

• Boys, girls, books and roses: a literary love affair in CataloniaThe Guardian, Article
• BBC - ReligionsBBC, Article
• Boys, girls, books and roses: a literary love affair in CataloniaThe Guardian, Article
• BBC - ReligionsBBC, Article

• Saint George's Day on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.