Window of St. George the Dragonslayer, in the closed and appealing church of St. Patrick, West Park Cleveland.23 April is Saint George's Day, but not this year. 23 April was Holy Saturday. Saint George was transferred to to-day. Paschal Sunday [Easter] is the great movable feast. Its tide pushed George onward. It is normal for feasts to move when they fall in Holy Week.
It is also a reminder that time is relative. What is regular and accepted can change in relation. Resurrection Sunday governs the christian calendar, and many days are determined by it; some away, and some intermittently.
Saint George was born in Lydda, Palestine. He usually is understood to have been a soldier. His execution was 23 April 303. The year before the emperor, Diocletian, issued an edict purging the army of christians. George was celebrated as a saint very early, and the stories grew to the point of great unreliability to historic accuracy. The byzantines re-named Lydda, Georgioupolis.
The dragon tale came centuries later. It is an allegory, but many people accepted as true beyond that. The dragon is a symbol of dangerous and conquerable evil. George is the true and brave christian, and all the rest is accoutrement to the story.
Lydda was also a town that suffered more recently. In the middle of July 1948, many thousands of residents and refugees were driven out and marched toward Ramallah. In the 100°F heat hundreds perished. The government leader who ordered the Death March was David Ben-Gurion.
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