Celebrating St George's
Day
 On
23rd April 2010, we celebrated our patron saints
day by wearing the colours of the flag, white
and red. All children enjoyed the day and discovered
the story behind this day. Here it is for those
that would like to read it:
'Long ago in a faraway
town there lived a dragon. The people lived in
great fear of this terrifying creature which lived
in a cave at the edge of a lagoon. They hoped
that if they fed it two sheep a day, it might
go away.
But it didn’t….
Eventually the townspeople
ran out of sheep and the town council met to decide,
with the king, what should be done.
“We have no sheep
left. What shall we give it instead?” asked
the councillors. The King thought for a long time
and gave his answer.
“It is well known
that dragons like the taste of children. We will
have a lottery and every child in the town will
be given a number. Once a week a number will be
drawn out of a hat. The child who has that number
will be given to the dragon to eat in order to
save the town.”
The councillors began
the task with great sadness..
On the day of the
lottery a soldier named George arrived in the
town. He found the King and the towns folk in
a state of despair and disbelief………….
The King’s daughter’s
number had been drawn in the lottery!
George realised there was no time to waste. He
leapt upon his horse and galloped to the dragon’s
cave where he found the princess bound to a tree.
Suddenly there was
a rumble like thunder from the cave and the dragon
appeared.
It was part snake, part crocodile and bright green
in colour. It’s claws were sharp and it hissed
at George through its long razor sharp teeth.
George drew his sword
and stood firmly before the dragon, staring back
at its gleaming eyes. But the dragon did not attack.
A strange thing happened
– the dragon lay down at George’s feet.
Somehow it knew that George had an inner strength
and could surely beat it.
The dragon allowed George to set the princess
free and to lead it into town. The townsfolk were
overjoyed and celebrated the man who later became
Saint George.'
It is believed that
saint George was a soldier in the Roman army who
was beheaded in 303AD by the Romans for proclaiming
himself a Christian. His legend became famous
in the 11th and 12th centuries when Christian
Knights saw visions of him fighting alongside
them in the Crusades.
Saint George’s
Arms, a red cross on a white background, was used
by English soldiers and later incorporated into
the Union flag.
Edward III made him
the patron saint of England over 700 years ago
and his special day is 23rd April.
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