Post by fusilier23 on Apr 9, 2006 17:59:28 GMT
I'm sure most of us are thinking of jelly beans and chocolate bunnies at this time, but also right around the corner is April 23, the day set, at least by the Church, for the celebration of St. George, the Roman martyr who supposedly slew a dragon and is among other things, the patron of England and Boy Scouts.
England hasn't really got a national day or an independence day, although they do celebrate the sovereign's birthday each June with the Trooping of the Colour, among other things and they celebrate the nation's fallen on or about November 11th. St. George's Day was once somewhat more widely observed, with the English wearing the Tudor rose in their lapels and a few other things, but of late even that sort of thing seems to have faded. Not unusual, I think, given that Ireland only started celebrating St. Patrick's Day on any large scale in 1995, when the celebration, which had grown up here, found its way back there.
But, given a lot of the multiculturality that's grown up recently in England and the UK generally, I do think it's time the English reasserted their own identity in their own country with their own day. And besides, I'm sure everyone would be happy to add another bank holiday to the calendar.
I for one think the day should involve not only roses being worn but the St. George's flag with the red cross on the white field being widely displayed, and so what if it was flown in the Crusades? It's history, it happened, and that's not the only thing it's about. Let the English regiments parade out to their respective memorials and lay wreaths that morning as the Irish ones do on St. Patrick's Day. And let every community have a parade and festival, though I'm sure the biggest would be in London. The London parade especially should be replete with English icons, the Guards in full scarlet coats and bearskins, floats featuring Shakespeare, Nelson, Charles Dickens, and the easily recognizable Kings and Queens, double-decker red buses, black taxicabs, blue-helmeted policemen, and so forth. The street festival should feature lots of English cuisine, with meat pies, pasties, roast beef sandwiches, and that old standard, fish and chips, readily available. Hyde Park should have a bandshell set up and there should be live music all day, finishing with fireworks in red, white, and blue.
I'm sure if Hayley were in the UK at the time, she'd gladly join in the fun.
England hasn't really got a national day or an independence day, although they do celebrate the sovereign's birthday each June with the Trooping of the Colour, among other things and they celebrate the nation's fallen on or about November 11th. St. George's Day was once somewhat more widely observed, with the English wearing the Tudor rose in their lapels and a few other things, but of late even that sort of thing seems to have faded. Not unusual, I think, given that Ireland only started celebrating St. Patrick's Day on any large scale in 1995, when the celebration, which had grown up here, found its way back there.
But, given a lot of the multiculturality that's grown up recently in England and the UK generally, I do think it's time the English reasserted their own identity in their own country with their own day. And besides, I'm sure everyone would be happy to add another bank holiday to the calendar.
I for one think the day should involve not only roses being worn but the St. George's flag with the red cross on the white field being widely displayed, and so what if it was flown in the Crusades? It's history, it happened, and that's not the only thing it's about. Let the English regiments parade out to their respective memorials and lay wreaths that morning as the Irish ones do on St. Patrick's Day. And let every community have a parade and festival, though I'm sure the biggest would be in London. The London parade especially should be replete with English icons, the Guards in full scarlet coats and bearskins, floats featuring Shakespeare, Nelson, Charles Dickens, and the easily recognizable Kings and Queens, double-decker red buses, black taxicabs, blue-helmeted policemen, and so forth. The street festival should feature lots of English cuisine, with meat pies, pasties, roast beef sandwiches, and that old standard, fish and chips, readily available. Hyde Park should have a bandshell set up and there should be live music all day, finishing with fireworks in red, white, and blue.
I'm sure if Hayley were in the UK at the time, she'd gladly join in the fun.