Real Britain Company News…

St. George’s Day is on 23 April. St George is England’s patron saint, however, this day passes virtually unnoticed. Maybe this is because his connection to England is rather tenuous. Unlike St Patrick who lived in Ireland for many years and had a profound impact on Irish religous history, St George probably didn’t ever come to England.

St. George is believed to have been born in Cappadocia (now Eastern Turkey) in the year A.D. 270. He was a Christian. At the age of seventeen he joined the Roman army and soon became renowned for his bravery. He served under a pagan Emperor but never forgot his Christian faith.

When the pagan Emperor Diocletian started persecuting Christians, St. George pleaded with the Emperor to spare their lives. However, St. George’s pleas fell on deaf ears and it is thought that the Emperor tried to make him deny his faith in Christ, by torturing him. St George showed incredible courage and faith and was finally beheaded near Lydda in Palestine on 23 April, 303.

The popularity of St George in England stems from the time of the early Crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious. St George’s emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king’s soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle

The most famous legend of Saint George is of him slaying a dragon. In the Middle Ages the dragon was commonly used to represent the Devil. The slaying of the dragon by St George was first credited to him in the twelfth century, long after his death.

Over 30,000 people join in London Marathon . The 26.2 mile course runs from Greenwich to The Mall (in front of Buckingham Palace). The event attracts serious marathon runners from around the world, but there are also many people who run for fun and to raise money for charity. This will be the 31st year.

This horse race, run at Aintree close to Liverpool, is probably the most famous in the World. It is the one race on which almost everyone has a bet, even if it’s just in the office sweepstake. It started in 1839, making it one of the oldest races in the World.

Some animal lovers would say it is notorious rather than famous as so many horses fall as they negotiate the high fences and ditches, and, despite improvement in recent years, there is often one horse fatality during the race.

Red Rum is the most famous horse to have won this race, doing it no less than 3 times.

Today an annual sporting event takes place that is just one race between only two teams and lasts only about 17 minutes, and yet thousands of people will come from miles around to watch it, suffering the often inclement weather of the season to do so. What’s more thousands more will watch the BBC live coverage.

What is it? The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race or just ‘the boat race’. The two oldest & most prestigous universities in Britain have been challenging each other (last years’ loser always puts down the challenge) to a boat race on the Thames for 156 years.

I recall as a child being taken to see this race. I chose the dark blue rossette to wear (Oxford colours) because I liked the colour, but I swapped half way through when the light blues (Cambridge) were winning.

Why is it such a big deal? Who knows! Just one of those quintessentially British traditions.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

The celebration of St Patrick’s Day as a big scale event remained the domain of the US, Canada and Australia. Recently, however, the Irish have cottoned on to its commercial value and the St Patrick’s Day Festival in Dublin is a growing event.