Happy St. George's Day

The Saint George's Cross, Flag of England

For the Anglophiles: today is St. George's Day celebrating the patron saint of England.

We don’t know much about St George. He was soldier of noble birth, from Cappadocia, in modern Turkey. He lived in the 3rd century AD and was probably a tribune in the Roman army. He became a Christian; protested against Roman persecution of Christians; and was imprisoned, tortured and finally martyred by beheading. Much of the rest is shrouded in legend. But many of course associate him with the slaying of a dragon in Libya and saving a beautiful princess. Symbolically, the dragon may represent the Devil (or possibly the Roman Emperor).

Saint George is also the patron saint of Ethopia. So now you know.