ST. GEORGE'S DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 95, 23 April 1928, Page 6

ST. GEORGE'S DAY.

Saint George for Merrie England! The ery brings to mind a vision of the Crusaders— knights in shining armour, with flying pennants and coats bright with heraldic emblems riding across the vast sandy stretches of Palestine beneath a blazing boh and on their arms the sign of St. George, the red cross on a white background. Though St. George had not officially become England's recognised patron, yet the Crusaders had adopted him as the emblem of the best in chivalry. St. George was definitely adopted as the patron saint of the Order of the Garter in 1344, and four years later Edward HL built a chapel at Windsor for his special honour. As the chivalric soldier saint he was peculiarly fitted for this position, and he rapidly became not only the patron of the order but of England as well. The original St. George, as far as has been ascertained, died as long ago as April 23, A.D. 303. He is reputed to have been born at Cappadocia, of Christian parents, by whom, he was brought up strictly in the Faith. He rose to a high military position under Diocletian until that emperor decided to persecute Christians. Then St. George protested, proclaimed his faith, and resigned his commission. He was arrested, tortured and finally put to death at Nicodemia. When the mass of myth which surrounds his name is boiled down to pure fact that is all that remains. But we cannot sacrifice so readily the delightful story of the rescue of the damsel by the slaying of the dragon. The picture of a very real dragon being slain by a masterly St. George is presented to us at an early age and becomes a fixed belief. As a matter of fact the story of the slaying of the dragon has many counterparts in mythology. In ancient Babylonian lore the god Marduk is stated to have fought and killed the great dragon Tiamat, which represents primeval chaos. When he had killed him Marduk created earth by splitting the carcase into two and making one half into the sky and the other into the earth.

In Europe the St. George myth is found in great force in Furth, Bavaria. Here each year a mime of the fight takes place. A pantomimic dragon is slain by a St. George, who, in doing so, pierces a bladder of blood, which gushes all over the ground, and so rescues the princess. The farmers dip rags in the blood and this is placed in the fields to make the flax grow. Then in Ragusa, Sicily, an effigy of a dragon is carried in procession on St. George's Day, and with the effigy two sugar loaves, which are afterwards broken up, and every farmer buries a piece in his field to assure a good crop. It is now suggested that the slaying of the dragon myth mav be a survival of a very old form of sun worship. St. George represents the sun, and by killing the dragon he is dispelling the darkness.

In spite of his decidedly cosmopolitan upbringing, however, St. George is now definitely and indisputably British. He has been acquired by the Empire as so many other things have been acquired. But to make doubly sure the national poet of England decided that St. George's Day was good enough for him, and came into the world on April 23. Not content with that, he died on that day, too, so that there could be no doubt about the matter. And who more ardently patriotic than Shakespeare could have chosen such a birthday? —N.MJS.