A public holiday for England's patron saint? St George or St Edmund - or both? Letters in the Western Daily Press.

Should there be a public holiday for England's patron saint St George, a Christian from Palestine who rose to the rank of Tribune in the Roman Army, or St Edmund, King of East Anglia in 9th century Anglo-Saxon England? 

George was tortured and beheaded for refusing to uphold edicts issued against Christians by the Emperor Diocletian.  Edmund was captured by the Great Heathen Army of the Danes after their invasion and devastation of East Anglia.  Legend has it that he was beheaded after refusing to renounce his Christian faith. 

These letters appeared in the Western Daily Press on March 15th and March 19th.

What did St George do for the English? 
D F Courtney says that St George deserves his own holiday ( Western Daily Press March 12).

I ask, what did St George do for England that he deserves his own holiday? He was a Palestinian gentleman who is patron saint of 13 countries.

It is very clear what St Patrick did for Ireland and he did live in Ireland. St George never put a foot on English soil. He had, however, a great PR man in William Shakespeare.

People who know their history advocate the reinstatement of St Edmund, whose saint’s day is on November 20, as the patron saint of the English nation. Here, we should venerate St Alphege, the martyred archbishop from Bath, as our patron saint by flying the gold cross flag with its red background on April 19.

Robert Craig

The New Aelfric Society



Independence before patron saint holidays.

Your correspondent Robert Craig (Western Daily Press, March 12) may call for the English to celebrate a St Edmund’s day rather than the St George’s bank holiday advocated by D F Courtney but I doubt the British political establishment would allow either.

Scotland and Wales, quite rightly, have their own governments to promote occasions of national festivity. Any such recognition of English nationhood would be anathema to the Westminster elite who much prefer to vaingloriously cloak themselves in British nationalism while ruling over their last remaining “colony” – England.

We English will need an independent parliament of our own before a bank holiday for our patron saint is authorised.  Who knows?  Perhaps one day an English Parliament will grant two public holidays; one each for St George and St Edmund.

S.W.
English Democrats, Somerset