Happy St George's Day...! The patron saint of England. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England, and part of the British flag - the Union Jack.
St George's emblem was adopted by Richard the 1st in the 12th century, also known as Richard the Lionheart. The King's soldiers wore the emblem on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.
It used to be customary to wear a rose on the lapel for this day, but this practice has largely disappeared. In more recent times the celebration of this day, together with the wearing of the rose and the flying of the English flag, became associated with right wing political parties, and became unpopular. The flag is also linked with sport, football in particular.
Recently there has been a move to renew our celebration of St George and reclaim the day, spearheaded (no pun intended...) by London's Mayor, Boris Johnson.
By coincidence, it is also Shakespeare's birthday. We believe he was born on this day in 1564, and died on the same day in 1616.
