SAINT GEORGE'S DAY

SAINT GEORGE'S DAY

From South America to Asia we find countries that celebrate Saint George's Day, some even nationally. Do you know who he was and what he did to be so popular ? Then I explain a little more about him. In addition, as in the entries TRAVEL SPEAKING SPANISH and TRAVEL SPEAKING ENGLISH , I have prepared a map with the countries in which that is celebrated this day that you can see at the end of this page.

Before you know the story, I also wanted to tell you that the fact that April 23rd is celebrated as the day of the book is not related to Saint George, but that April 23rd also coincides with the death of great writers such as Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, William Wordsworth or Josep Pla. In addition to the birth of Manuel Mejía Vallejo, Maurice Druon or Halldór Laxness.

WHO WAS SAINT GEORGE?

George was a Roman soldier of the lineage of the Cappadocians . After his father died, Gerontius, an officer in the Roman army, moved with his mother, Polychronia, to her hometown, Lydda, now Lod , in Israel. There, Jorge was educated in the Christian faith and shortly after reaching the age of majority he enlisted in the army. Due to his charisma, George did not take long to rise and, before turning 30, he was assigned to Nicomedia as the emperor's personal guard Diocletian (284-305).

In 303, the emperor issued an edict authorizing the persecution of Christians throughout the empire. George, who was ordered to participate, confessed that he too was a Christian and Diocletian ordered him to be tortured so that he would apostatize, although without success. For this reason his execution was ordered and he was beheaded in front of the walls of Nicomedia on April 23rd, 303.

WHY IS HE ONE OF THE MOST VENERATED SAINTS IN THE WORLD?

According to legend, in the city of Silca (Libya) , lived a dragon that caused great damage to the population and their livestock. For this to end, the inhabitants agreed to give the dragon a person as a daily sacrifice so that he would not attack them again. This person was chosen by lottery, until one day the king's daughter was chosen .

When the time came, the princess left the city for the dragon's cave. When it was ready to be devoured by it, a young knight appeared on a white horse. He took his spear and without any regard charged the dragon. After a tough battle, he managed to drive the spear into her chest , causing a serious wound that would lead to death, thus saving the princess and the people of Silca. It is said that a beautiful rose bush was born from the blood of the dragon, from which Jorge took a rose and gave it to the princess.

IN WHICH COUNTRIES IS SAINT GEORGE'S DAY CELEBRATED?

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PAÍSES QUE CELEBRAN SAN JORGE: Albania, Alemania, Argentina, Bélgica, Bielorrusia, Brasil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, España, Etiopía, Francia, Georgia, Grecia, Hungría, Inglaterra, India, Italia, Kosovo, Líbano, Malta, México, Montenegro, Palestina, Paraguay, Rusia, Serbia, Siria, Ucrania, Uruguay y Venezuela.

As you can see in the image, Saint George's Day is celebrated in several countries around the world , not all of them at the national level. Also, not in all countries it is celebrated on the same day. Some countries celebrate it on the day he died, April 23 (Spain, Portugal, Georgia, Greece, England, Italy, Belarus, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Paraguay). Others nevertheless celebrate it on May 6, coinciding with the day of his birth (Albania, Kosovo, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro and Palestine). We also have countries like Malta that celebrates it in June or Venezuela that celebrates it in October.

REFERENCES:

A. (2021a, abril 10). San Jorge y el dragón, la Leyenda: quién fue, qué hizo y cómo se celebra en Aragón. Enjoy Zaragoza. https://www.enjoyzaragoza.es/la-leyenda-san-jorge/

abc.es. (2013, 23 abril). La leyenda de San Jorge, un símbolo muy europeo. abc. https://www.abc.es/sociedad/20130423/abci-jorge-dragon-leyenda-201304222111.html

La verdadera historia de San Jorge: el soldado cristiano de Roma que murió mártir por su fe. (2019, 23 abril). COPE. https://www.cope.es/religion/historias/noticias/verdadera-historia-san-jorge-soldado-cristiano-roma-que-murio-martir-por-20190423_399640

Mundo, E. L. (2020, 23 abril). Por qué se celebra el Día del Libro el 23 de abril. ELMUNDO. https://www.elmundo.es/cultura/literatura/2020/04/21/5e9ec57021efa0ec798b45eb.html

R. (2021b, abril 21). Historia National Geographic. historia.nationalgeographic.com.es. https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/leyenda-san-jorge-y-dragon_12574

 

2 thoughts on “SAN JORGE”

  1. Siempre me había preguntado porque el día de san Jorge era el día del libro, pues bien ahora ya lo sé
    Muchas gracias por tu información

    Reply
  2. Having read this I thought it was extremely informative.

    I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this information together.

    I once again find myself personally spending a
    significant amount of time both reading and
    leaving comments.
    But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply

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