If you were getting ready to fly your St George’s Day flag in honour of England’s patron saint today, you might be surprised to discover that you’ve got the date wrong.
St George’s day is usually celebrated on 23 April every year, but the Church of England has changed the date this year because no saint’s day can take place in the week before or after Easter.
Any saint’s day falling in Holy or Easter week moves to the week after the Easter fortnight, usually to the first Monday, according to the Church of England.
A note issued by the church says: “When St George’s Day or St Mark’s Day falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter inclusive, it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter.
“If both fall in this period, St George’s Day is transferred to the Monday and St Mark’s Day to the Tuesday.”
St George’s Day is a national day, and an Anglican and Catholic festival. St George is the patron saint of England.
Despite a change to the date this year, Sir Keir Starmer held a St George’s day reception at Downing Street on Tuesday evening.
The prime minister said England faces a “never-ending fight for our flag and what it represents”, sharing his his worries about the far-right claiming ownership of St George’s Cross.
Sir Keir praised England for its diversity, pointing to the difference between his “working class” background and his predecessor Rishi Sunak, “an English Hindu”, who had both been able to become prime minister.
“That for me is something I think we should always be proud of and never take for granted,” Sir Keir said.
But the Prime Minister added: “Because, while this is a day for celebration, we cannot be under any illusions that there is a never-ending fight for our flag and what it represents.
“I’ll put it this way, when I was standing in the old Wembley in 1996 – not many people sat down that day, it felt like that whole tournament embodied the best of our country. Yet now – there are people trying to sow division in our communities, people taking the red and white of our flag, like the bunting downstairs, with them, as they throw bricks at businesses.”
Among the celebrities who joined Sir Keir at the No 10 reception were outgoing Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker, and comedian Rob Beckett.
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