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St. George's Day is
celebrated on April 23rd.
St. George's Day is not
an official national
holiday in Canada. It
is, however, a
provincial holiday in
Newfoundland and
Labrador, where it is
usually observed on the
Monday nearest April 23rd.
St George is the patron
saint of England. He is
the patron of soldiers
and archers, cavalry and
chivalry, of farmers and
field workers, Boy
Scouts and butchers, of
horses, riders and
saddlers. He is also the
patron saint of Aragon,
Catalonia, Genoa,
Georgia, Germany,
Greece, Istanbul,
Lithuania, Moscow,
Palestine, Portugal, and
of Venice (second to St.
Mark).
According to legend, St.
George, a soldier of the
Imperial Army, rescues a
town in what is now
Libya from the tyranny
of a people-eating
dragon. St. George
overpowered the beast
and then offered to kill
it if the townspeople
would convert to
Christianity and be
baptized. The story is
that there were 15,000
conversions on the spot.
Openly espousing
Christianity was
dangerous and eventually
the authorities of
Emperor Diocletian
arrested George. He was
martyred about 303 AD.
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