Thousands of people think today should be made into a bank holiday
St George’s Day is the day to commemorate the patron saint of England, but it is not a national holiday.
This marks a stark contrast to Scotland and Northern Ireland, where both St Andrew’s Day and St Patrick’s Day are public holidays.
However, a new petition is calling for this to change, and over 75,000 people have signed calling for St George’s Day to become a bank holiday.
“Recognising this day as a national holiday would provide an opportunity for people across England to celebrate their shared history and cultural identity while also acknowledging their unique contribution to the United Kingdom,” petition creator John Kelly writes.
However, when JOE went out on the street and asked the public what they thought about St George’s Day, it seems that not many people are aware of who St George is – or even when the day commemorating him is.
When asked how they are going to mark St George’s Day, most people were taken aback, with replies ranging from ‘I don’t know when that is,’ to ‘What is St George’s Day?’.
Even those who know when it is didn’t seem fussed about marking the occasion.
“I know when St George’s Day is, but I won’t be doing much for it,” one person said. “He slayed a dragon of some sort, something like that.”
Another person said that they would ‘probably be having a pint, but that’s nothing to do with George.’
However, some people felt that St George’s Day was suffering from lack of celebrations.
“I think it should be celebrated a lot more,” one member of the public said. “It’s like they’re stopping us from celebrating, in many cases.”
“I suppose in some ways it’s nice to have a little niche to celebrate, and bring everyone together,” someone else said of the day.
“I feel like a lot of the old English traditions and that are kinda slipping away,” another added. “You see pubs and stuff closing down all the time in small areas.”
However, of St George’s Day itself, they said: “I think that was gone long ago wasn’t it, no one’s celebrating that.”
When asked whether St George’s Day should be a bank holiday, though, the answer was a resounding yes – even for those who may end up working it.
“If I can get the day off then yeah,” one person answered.
“I’ll back it, even if I work it I’ll back it, just for everyone else,” another said.
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