St. George's Day

George of Diospolis was a Christian soldier who gained fame after several daring rescues of children in distress. He was known as the "Dragonslayer" not so much because of exploits with rare and dangerous reptiles, but because of his willingness to snatch innocent life out of the jaws of death.

He had risen through the ranks of the Roman army and served in the Imperial Guard of Diocletian. However, during the great persecution of 302 he confronted the Emperor regarding the cruel oppression of the church. For his candor and courage, George was immediately imprisoned and was soon afterward martyred in Nicomedia. Later, innumerable legends made much of his exploits--romantically associating him with damsels and dragons--but it was his willingness to risk all for the sake of the sanctity of life that earned him his place in history.

One of the most revered of the early church heroes, he became the patron saint of England, Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Libya, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, and Russia, as well as the cities of Amersfoort, Beirut, Bteghrine, Cáceres, Spain, Ferrara, Freiburg, Genoa, Ljubljana, Gozo, Pomorie, Qormi, Lod, and Moscow.

England’s Feast Day of St. George was commemorated by the creation of the noble order of St. George, or the Blue Garter on this day in 1344. Although the original implementation of the Order Blue Garter consisted of a grand joust, it was still common well into the nineteenth century for gentleman to wear blue on this day.