The Union Flag, or Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is so called because it combines the crosses of the three countries united under one Sovereign - the kingdoms of England and Wales, of Scotland and of Ireland (although since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom).
The flag consists of the red cross of Saint George, patron saint of England, superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. Its correct proportions are 3:5. The flag's official use came to an end in 1801 with the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
English saintsKing Charles I of England is the only person to have been treated as a new saint by some Anglicans following the English Reformation, after which he was referred to as a martyr and included briefly in a calendar of the Book of Common Prayer.
St George is truly an international saint and England is not the only country or region to claim him as its patron. England shares St George with Venice, Genoa, Portugal, Ethiopia and Catalonia among others as their patron saint and many of these places have their own celebrations and ceremonies in his honour.
It is likely he was born in Cappadocia, Turkey around AD270 and was martyred at Nicomedia, or Lydda, modern day Israel, in the Roman province of Palestine in AD303, he said.
Where is Saint Edmund buried?
Bury St Edmunds Abbey Gardens, Bury St Edmunds, United Kingdom
Bishop Edmund was one of the prominent counsellors to King Ecbert. As an ordained bishop in the Catholic Church, he served as a chief member of Ecbert's council, and as a dutiful advisor and relayer of God's word to him.
Where was St Edmund born?
For over 1,000 years, the site of Suffolk 's Cathedral has been one of worship and pilgrimage. The death of Edmund, King of the East Angles, at the hands of the Danes in 869 led to the building of an abbey to house his remains. St James's Church was built within the precincts of the Abbey, becoming a Cathedral in 1914.
He was chosen as England's patron Saint in 1350, by King Edward III. St George was admired for his bravery in the face of terrible suffering, and he was popular among European Knights and military men.
Its original Greek form, Georgios, is based on the Greek word georgos (γεωργός), meaning farmer. The name took on religious significance to followers of Early Christianity in 303 with the supposed martyrdom of Georgios, a Roman soldier of Greek heritage.
He is the patron saint of England and of Georgia and is venerated as one of the 14 Auxiliary Saints (Holy Helpers). Nothing of George's life or deeds can be established, but tradition holds that he was a Roman soldier and was tortured and decapitated under Diocletian's persecution of Christians in 303.
According to legend, St George was a Roman soldier born in what is now modern-day Turkey in around 280AD and died around 303. Very little is known about his early life but it is believed he was born to a wealthy Christian noble family. When he grew up he became a soldier and joined the retinue of Emperor Diocletian.
Saint George is the patron saint of England. He's popularly identified with England and English ideals of honour, bravery and gallantry - but actually he wasn't English at all.
George's day may be celebrated with anything English including morris dancing and Punch and Judy shows. A traditional custom on St. George's day is fly or adorn the St. George's Cross flag in some way: pubs in particular can be seen on 23 April festooned with garlands of St.
Aside from England, other countries that celebrate St George's Day include Canada, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Macedonia.
In 1188, red and white crosses were chosen to identify English and French troops in the Kings Crusade of Henry II of England and Phillip II of France. There is a historiographical tradition claiming that Richard the Lionheart adopted both the flag and the patron saint from Genoa during his crusade.
Appointed to the order of the Garter in 1504 by Henry VII of England, Guido da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, commissioned Raphael to paint a picture of Saint George as a gift for the King, and appointed Baldassare Castiglione, author of The Courtier, to bear it to England.
It was later quarried and the top levelled by the Dobunni (a Celtic tribe that lived in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion) to take the shape we see today. Its striking appearance led to it being forever linked in legend as the site where Saint George fought and slew the ferocious fire-breathing dragon.
Hardly anyone believes in dragons nowadays, despite all the effort the Game of Thrones special effects team have put into making their creations look realistic. Nobody has ever found a real live dragon, and there are no fossils of them, so it is reasonable to say that they do not exist and never have.
“In relation to dinosaurs – an obvious suggestion that has been made – you need to remember that they became extinct about 70 million years ago.
Who painted St George and the Dragon?
