The medieval legend of St George and the dragon is over a thousand years old. At a spring in Libya the local people offered sheep to a dragon that had its nest nearby, in order to draw water. When there were no more sheep to offer the dragon the local people drew lots as to who would be offered to the dragon instead. The Princess Cleolinda’s name was drawn and despite protest from the King she was duly put before the dragon. Right at that moment St George was riding by. He got down from his horse, killed the dragon and saved the princess.
George’s Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George’s death in AD 303. Whilst other countries enthusiastically celebrate St George’s Day, the celebrations in England (where he is the patron Saint) had declined by the end of the 18th century and it is only in recent years that it has started to regain its original popularity. In the early 15th century St George’s day in England was celebrated as a national holiday and feast comparable to Christmas, so it still has some way to go.
All of this talk of celebration brings us on to the subject of fireworks. National events in England in recent years, such as the 2011 Royal Wedding and the 2012 Diamond Jubilee have encouraged communities to get together and hold community parties and fireworks have quickly become a popular form of entertainment to end the events with.
Whilst large civic organisations can afford large scale professional displays, smaller communities have a more restricted budget to work to. The recent advance in firework design though, enable smaller groups or organisations to put on a professional looking display for a fraction of the cost. Commonly know as the ‘single ignition box’, ‘display in a box’ or a ‘single fuse firework’, this style of firework has made it easy to fire a continuous aerial firework display lasting up to 2 minutes by lighting just one fuse. Several of this type of firework can easily be lit one after each other to provide a display lasting 10 minutes and there is no longer a need to run around with a lighter to light them as there are now simple to use remote control firing systems that cost just a few pounds.
So ‘Cry God for Harry, England and St George’ and lets celebrate our patron saint and have some fun.
