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Did
you know it was St George's Day this Friday April 23? Really?
Pat
yourself on the back if you did - it's believed that only around
a fifth of the population remember the day of England's patron saint.
However,
a local festival organiser is campaigning to change all that, aiming
to reinstate April 23 as a public holiday.
Holiday
David
Crompton, who organises the medieval festival Joust, said, "April
23rd was declared a public holiday by the Oxford synod in 1222,
and from 1415 through to the mid 1700s St George's Day was a recognised
feast day.
 Our national saint's day should be
a public holiday.
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| David
Crompton |
"The
UK has the least number of bank holidays of any country in Europe
- just eight, compared with 12 in Italy, 13 in Austria and 14 in
Spain and Portugal.
"We
believe our national saint's day should be a public holiday."
History
Of
course there's much more to St George's Day than just the chance
of an extra day off work...
Relatively
few facts are known about the saint's life, which is steeped in
legend and fable.
He
is perhaps most famous for slaying a 'dragon' in Libya, rescuing
a sacrificial maiden from it's scaly clutches.
Sadly,
like many of the best tales of medieval valour, this event appears
to have little basis in recorded history.
Soldier
It
is believed he held a senior post within the Roman army, and that
he was later executed by the Emperor Dioclesian for protesting about
the treatment of Christians under his rule.
Accounts
suggest that his death took place in the year 307.
The
tale of St George and the dragon does not seem to have been recorded
before the 11th century, but the legend spread across Europe as
an example of the Saint's great bravery.
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| Gloucestershire
medieval festival Joust |
Legend
To
help rally support for their petition to turn St George's Day back
into a public holiday, the Joust festival organisers are staging
a short play outside Stroud's Subscription Rooms.
Narrated
by William of Berkeley (the fasted longbow shot in the land), the
20 minute play tells the original story of St George and the dragon.
| St
George and the Dragon |
| Venue |
Outside
the Subscription Rooms, Stroud |
| Date |
St
George's Day Friday April 23 |
| Time |
11am |
Ìý
Read
some of the features you may have missed in our
archive
section or
get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk.
|
Despite
being the patron saint of England, some believe that poor St George
has been rather neglected in recent years. But a local campaign is
hoping to change all that...
