St George, the Roman soldier that famously carried out the slaying of a dragon to save a Princess and perhaps more importantly, the patron saint of England. His feast day is held on the 23rd of April each year.
However, each year it seems to go unnoticed by many of us, despite the significance he has on our country. This contrasts greatly with the likes of St Patrick's day where on the 17th of March each year dozens of us scramble to claim the small percentage of Irish blood we have as an excuse to go out and celebrate with pints of Guinness and the streets are adorned with the famous green, white and gold flag.
In the past, people marked the day with roses. This is thought to have stemmed from the fact that a rose became the symbol of St George after it is claimed that a beautiful flower grew from where he was buried. In light of this it then became a tradition for people to wear roses to commemorate the day, in Catalonia in Spain which also shares the patron saint, women would give men a book to receive a rose in return as a tradition on the day.
St George was canonized to honour the torturing he endured for refusing to give up his Christian, as a result he has now also become a figure of bravery and valour. The George Cross and the George Medal are both among the highest medals people can earn for showing great bravery in the face of difficult and dangerous situations.
The day is also marked as being Shakespeare's birthday and alleged date of death also. Due to this celebrations take place across England, particularly in Stratford-upon-Avon where a parade takes place on the day. In London, the Globe Theatre holds events, such as story-telling, to honour the day.
It is the belief of many, including myself, that more should be done to recognise the day and that people across England should be encouraged to celebrate the day more and be proud of their heritage and culture.
Recently, Jeremy Corbyn has announced his plans to create four new bank holidays, being on St Andrew's day, St Patrick's day, St David's day and also St George's day. Many people have been campaigning for years now to have St George's day made into a bank holiday, including a petition that many have signed.
Cairenn Mullen, 15, from Wanstead feels as though the day does not get the recognition it deserves "I think St George's day doesn't really get celebrated as much as it should be," she says. "My birthday is also on the same day so I really hope that it becomes a bank holiday as that would be really cool to have my birthday off work every year!"
