Saint George's Day

Hi! We are here today to present to you our fourth entry of our blog! After Halloween's day, we want to talk about another fundamental day in British Holidays: Saint George's Day. We hope that you will enjoy acquiring knowledge about it because it is a highly important day in England and, like you will see, in some parts of our own country. So, let's start!

Photo: English Heritage

Saint George's Day commemorates the death of the soldier George, it is celebrated on 23th April. He was killed in Nicomedia due to his Christian faith, this is the reason why he is venerated as a martyr. According to the legend, Saint George was an English knight who rescued a maiden from being devoured by an enormous dragon. His bravery served as an example for thousands of English warriors who, for centuries, and shouting "For St. George!", battled under the flag bearing the red cross, known as the Cross of Saint George. However, some historians believe that Saint George who achieved one of the highest military positions in the Roman army under the rule of the pagan Emperor Diocletian, led one of the most violent persecutions of Christians in the history of the Empire. One day, disagreeing with the brutality with which the emperor treated Christians, George decided to disobey his orders and formed a small rebellion against him. For these acts, George was captured, dragged through the streets of Nicomedia, tortured, and beheaded. This rebellion against the emperor in defense of the Christians secured his place in the Christian canon.

It's believed that the English started invoking Saint George during the time of the Crusades, seeking his protection and aid to conquer the Holy Land and liberate those lands from the 'evil dragon'.

Among the activities that are carried out on this day, we have: gastronomic fairs, parades, events for the youngest, and all sorts of cultural gatherings. Furthermore, it's customary that the flag is hoisted in different places across the city, including at 10 Downing Street, as well as in numerous pubs, bars, shops, or restaurants. Another traditional custom for Saint George's Day is wearing a red rose on the lapel, and it is common to see Londoners sporting the national flower on this day. In London, one of the most active spots on this day is usually Trafalgar Square, where numerous stalls resembling an ancient medieval village are set up. Performances by musical groups, theatrical representations, and gastronomic tastings enliven this festival that attracts hundreds of Londoners and tourists. Other common activities for Saint George's Day include organizing tournaments of quintessentially English sports such as football, rugby, or cricket, all of which have a large number of followers among Londoners

In Spain, specifically, in Catalonia, Saint George's Day (called Sant Jordi Day there) is a really important day too. This day is a special occasion to reclaim the Catalan culture and language.The central elements of the celebration are culture and love, represented with the book and the rose. Because, on this day, it is common for couples to give each other a book and a rose. In Barcelona the main meeting point is located on La Rambla, which is filled to the brim with stalls of booksellers and florists.

Photo:Shuttertock

Although the festival has been celebrated with more or less intensity since the 16th century, it was at the end of the 19th century, with the political and cultural movement of the Renaixença, when Sant Jordi was established as the most celebrated patriotic and cultural festival in Catalonia. 

Photo: Casa Battló

It has been really interesting for us to find these differences between both ways of celebrating this festival, although if this day shares something in the way it is celebrated, it is the dissemination of local culture. We believe that the origin of this day is really curious and its evolution, especially in Catalonia, is really amazing.

We hope you enjoyed learning about this day, we look forward to seeing you with more in our next entry!

Bibliography

• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, 4 noviembre). Saint George’s Day. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George%27s_Day

• English Heritage. (s. f.). 9 things you didn’t know about St George. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/st-georges-day/9-things-you-didnt-know-about-st-george/#:~:text=A%20feast%20day%20of%20St,days%20in%20the%20English%20calendar.

• eMascaró. (s. f.). Como se celebra, o no, Saint George’s Day en Inglaterra. English Summer.https://www.englishsummer.com/noticias/como-se-celebra-o-no-saint-georges-day-en-inglaterra/

Sant Jordi | Cultura popular. (s. f.-b) https://www.barcelona.cat/culturapopular/es/fiestas-y-tradiciones/sant-jordi

HALLOWEEN!

Hello everyone! Here we are again to show you more facts about British Holidays! Since Halloween is approaching, today we will focus on how English people celebrate this day, its origin, the costumes they wear... Are you ready? Let's get started!

Photo: Istock

As we know, this celebration takes place in many different parts of the world. But do people truly understand its origin? It is said that its roots are fundamentally Celtic. In some countries such as Ireland or Spain, people celebrated a festivity called Samhain, where the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the winter was celebrated. It took place between October and November. The Celts believed that during these dates, the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead disappeared, and the spirits of the deceased would come from the other world to interact with the living. This is the reason why people started wearing costumes in order to go unnoticed among the dead ones. When Christianism arrived, this tradition did not disappear, but the date changed to the present days: November 1st is the international Day of the Dead. The word “Halloween” is a contraction of the English expression “All Hallow's Eve”.

Photo: Istock/Gannet77

Over the years, this tradition has evolved, changing its Christian significant and mixing with local cultures. Nowadays, Halloween is a very widely spread festivity. It is really popular among children, who get dressed in scary costumes and knock on people's door saying “Trick or Treat” in order to get some sweets. It is said that the origin of knocking on the door saying “Trick or Treat” comes from the tradition of knocking on doors and asking for “Soul Cakes” hundreds of years ago. These were round cookies with a cross on the top. This is because on this day, food plays an essential role, much like in Spain, where people consume food to remember potions and spells that were once made. Among these is the "Witch's Elixir", which is made with blueberry juice, carrots, grapes, and oranges, or cookie and sponge cake shaped like skeletons.

In England, pumpkins have an important role on this day. Popularly, according to the story, pumpkins are known as “Jack-O-Lantern”. These cookies received their name because people used to tell the story of a farmer who lied to the devil to avoid going to hell. Finally, he was not allowed to enter heaven and it is said that his soul is in the air (it was a traditional indie story). People now decorate these pumpkins with a scary style and put them in the door waiting for the children who are searching for their sweets.

Photo: Pexels

In Spain this day is not as celebrated as in the UK but it is true that over the years this festivity is becoming more and more popular. For example, in countries like the UK or the United States the vast majority of the kids go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood in search of sweets. This is not as common in Spain, but here we have many Halloween attractions like "haunted houses" and Halloween-themed parties.

As we said people take advantage of this day to dress up. Traditionally the costumes have been of monstrous beings such as vampires, skeletons, mummies... But over the years, popular culture characters such as characters from current horror movies have gained great popularity. This is why today we can find a wide variety of costumes on the streets today.

Photo: Pinterest

We love this festivity and we hope it gains more recognition and popularity the following years in Spain because it is really funny for everyone. In addition, this festival can turn your city into an important tourist spot during these dates.

We hope you enjoyed today's entry. We are waiting for you with more interesting content in our next post!

Bibliography

• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, 2 noviembre). Halloween. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
• Halloween: Origins, meaning & Traditions. (2009, 18 noviembre). HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, octubre 31). Jack-o’-Lantern. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-o%27-lantern
• Wikipedia contributors. (2023, noviembre 3). Soul cake. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_cake
• GM, A. (2023, 31 octubre). Samhain, la fiesta celta que está en el origen de Halloween. historia.nationalgeographic.com.es. https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/samhain-fiesta-celta-que-esta-origen-halloween_18583