English celebrate on St. George’s Day

updated 3:46 p.m. ET April 23, 2008

LONDON - Londoners gathered Wednesday in Trafalgar Square, beneath statues of imperial lions and military heroes, to celebrate England's patron saint —a third-century Turkish soldier who supposedly had the power to slay a dragon but likely never set foot in Britain.

Little wonder the English have an identity crisis.

April 23 is St. George's Day, England's national day. But it's not a public holiday, and for decades it passed largely unnoticed — a far cry from its rowdy Irish counterpart, St. Patrick's Day.

"We tend to be a bit more reserved. It's an English trait," said Janis Whincup, who attended the Trafalgar Square celebrations with a red and white St. George's flag draped over her shoulders.

That may be changing — St. George's Day is experiencing a revival, as is the idea of Englishness itself.

Outside the realm of sport, English patriotism and the St. George flag long were shunned by liberal-minded Britons, regarded as the preserve of right-wing "Little Englanders" steeped in nostalgia and a mistrust of foreigners. Politicians promoted the notion of Britishness — an amalgamated identity open to native and foreign-born citizens, and to English, Welsh and Scottish alike.

Celebrating English heritage
But with devolution of political power from London to Scotland and Wales — both of which have gained legislatures and a new assertiveness in the last decade — that British identity has begun to fray.

The English make up 50 million of Britain's 60 million inhabitants, and many feel it's time they celebrated their heritage — if only they can agree on what it is.

"English people aren't proud enough of their own country," said Pamela Ealham, a 75-year-old retiree. "We're English; we should celebrate it."

Politicians have begun to embrace Englishness. For the first time on the saint's day, the St. George's Cross flag flew Wednesday above the 10 Downing St. residence of Prime Minister Gordon Brown — a Scot.

"The prime minister's view is that of course we should celebrate our Britishness," said Brown's spokesman, Michael Ellam. "But celebrating our Britishness does not mean we cannot also celebrate our Englishness, Scottishness, Welshness or Northern Irishness."

There are signs of an unofficial revival, too. Pubs across the country planned celebratory roast beef dinners Wednesday. Party-supply companies reported a sharp rise in sales of red-and-white hats and streamers.

In recent years, sports has played a big part in rehabilitating the symbols of Englishness. When England's rugby team won the World Cup in 2003, and when its cricket squad beat Australia in 2005, jubilant fans waved the flag of St. George, giving it a new visibility.

But the flag remains, especially for immigrants and ethnic minority Britons, a touchy symbol.

There were few flags on display at the officially sanctioned Trafalgar Square celebration, which focused on an aspect of England unlikely to offend anything but the palate: food.

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