Happy St George Day. Won't they come and make you take that flag out of public view, or is it all good again? Cheers Geoff
It was only on St George's Day 2917 that I heard about an English Catholic hymn, the 'Hymn to St George' (author and composer unknown) written about 1885. These are the lyrics which may interest some folk: Hymn to St George Arm! arm! for the struggle approaches, Prepare for the combat of life: Saint George! be our watchword in battle, Saint George! be our strength in the strife. Chorus: Great saint, from the throne of thy splendour, Look down on thy chosen isle, Soon, soon may they share in thy glory, Who faithfully strive her awhile. The land of thy love is a desert, It's temples and altars are bare, The finger of death is upon it, The footprints of Satan are there. Arise in the might of they power, And scatter the foes of the Lord; As the idols of Rome in their temple Were crushed at the sound of thy word. Oh, bring back the faith that we cherish, For which thou hast nobly withstood The tortures and rack of the tyrant, That faith which thou seal'dst with thy blood. .........................
There was a thread here many moons ago where all the Prison Guards in HM's correctional institutions were ordered to remove their St Georges Flag pin from their uniforms. Any more been heard of this?
We've never had a Patron Saint in the States as far as I know. Perhaps the fact that we never had a national established church has something to do with that. Since Britain was and still is our parent, though--happy St. George's Day.
There's an apocryphal story that the flag of St George derives from the Papal Banner presented to William in 1066. The Bayeux Tapestry seems to show a flag with a red cross being carried next to William during the Battle. That may account for it being resurrected by Richard the Lionheart for the Crusades to stress the Papal connection and the dynastic link to William. ..... but I can't be sure - I wasn't there !!!
As an added bonus, it's the centenary of the Zeebrugge Raid. And the first attempt at Ostend. HMS Warwick: "St. George for England." HMS Vindictive: "May we give the dragon's tail a damn good twist."
The dragon lived in a well at Brinsop, Herefordshire, it was here that St George fought and killed it. Commemorated in mediaeval glass at the church. The story must be true as it was on BBC radio this morning. St George’s, Brinsop : Visit Herefordshire Churches
We had a great St. George's Day celebration where I live. High Street closed down for the day and plenty of entertainments etc.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1120598048881676288 St George's Day: England marks saint's day but churches delay England marks St George's Day - or does it?