Tuesday, April 22, 2008

this dragon forto styll

Some readers of this blog are new and most likely aren't aware of one the blog's founding purposes: the publication of rarely-celebrated holidays.

So, if you didn't know that tomorrow, April 23, is St. George's day, I'm sorry.

But you do now.

(And, actually, it probably doesn't count along with Butter Battle Book Day and Dorian Gray's birthday as a truly rarely-celebrated holiday, since many people do celebrate it. Oh well.)

St. George is the patron saint of England and of the Spanish provinces of Catalonia and Aragón, donde se celebran las fiestas de Sant Jordí y de San Jorge (me supongo), respectivamente. He is also the patron saint of many other countries, states, cities, professions, and even Christian Palestinians.

Legend has it that among his many other heroic exploits, [the future Saint] George rescued the princess of Libya from her imminent death as a sacrifice to the menacing (and exacting) neighborhood dragon. You can read all about it here.

In a slightly irrelevant vein, I will always associate St. George's Day with Martin Luther, because that was the day I was in Wittenburg.

And if you ever wondered "what even dimly history-conscious Protestant could go to Wittenburg to the church of the 95 Theses and not take a picture to prove she was there," I may have a specimen for you.

(After two years, I am also beginning to lament the Great Off-Kilter Picture Kick of 2006. My dad was right.)

For further musings on dragons, chivalry, sacrifice, courage, patriotism, Masterpiece Theatre and things written all over the world, come back another time. A long post is marinating.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dads are so often right...

danay said...

Thanks for bringing St. George's Day to the forefront (especially in middle (?) english)... did you also know that, among other things, he's the patron saint of Boy Scouts, butchers, plague, and saddle makers? I used to think it was amusing that there were patron saints for such mundane things as gravel, but then I found out that "gravel" is another way of saying "kidney stones" and it wasn't as funny. I'm REALLY grateful that God hears our prayers on all topics and troubles!

Jourdan said...

I want to apologize sincerely Em... I keep deleting my comments after I write them. Sorry! Then u have to go back and delete them yourself and it's a hassle so no more deleting for me. =) I will give you your gospel music book Sunday. You don't know how much I appreciate you letting me borrow it. I love those pieces. See you Sunday!