Saint George's Day

Saint George's Day
Saint George and the Dragon Oil painting by Raphael (1505–1506)
Observed by	Roman Catholic Church (see calendar) Anglican Communion (see calendars) Eastern Orthodox Church (see calendar) Oriental Orthodox Church (see calendar) Nations of which Saint George is the patron saint
Type	Feast day; national day of England.
Observances	Church services, flying of the St George's Cross
Date	23 April, 24 April, 6 May, 23 November
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Feast of Saint George  England

Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint.

Saint George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death in Diocletianic Persecution of AD 303. For those Eastern Orthodox Churches which use the Julian calendar, this date currently falls on the day of 6 May of the Gregorian calendar. In Turkic culture the day is known as Hıdırellez or Xıdır Nəbi and is symbolic of spring renewal.

In the General Calendar of the Roman Rite, the feast of Saint George is on 23 April. In the Tridentine Calendar it was given the rank of "Semidouble". In Pope Pius XII's 1955 calendar this rank is reduced to "Simple". In Pope John XXIII's 1960 calendar the celebration to just a "Commemoration". In Pope Paul VI's revision of the calendar, that came into force in the 1969 it was given the equivalent rank of a "Memorial", of optional use. In some countries, such as England, the rank is higher.

Since Easter often falls close to Saint George's Day, the church celebration of the feast may be moved from 23 April: For 2011 and 2014 the Anglican and Catholic calendars celebrated Saint George's Day on the first Monday after the Octave of Easter (see Easter Week) (2 May 2011 and 28 April 2014, respectively). Similarly, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the feast moves accordingly to the first Monday after Easter or, as it is sometimes called, to the Monday of Bright Week. The church celebration may also be moved if the 23rd April falls on a Sunday; eg, in England and Wales the Catholic calendar celebrates Saint George on Monday 24 April 2017 (because Sunday is the celebration of Christ's Resurrection, which is far more important than any saint's commemoration).