Saint George’s Day in the Christian Church is the commemoration day of the legendary martyr Saint George the dragon slayer. It is one of the most famous famous days in folklore, many beliefs, customs, sayings and predictions are connected to it.
From this day onwards, our ancestors counted the beginning of the real spring, the arrival and stabilization of good weather. In the countries of Europe, it has long been considered as the beginning of spring. Even the Romans already celebrated the goddess Pales on this day, who was revered as the protector of shepherds, flocks, fields and vinedressers.
On this day, the Christian Church celebrates the memorial day of the legendary martyr St. George, the dragon slayer. His figure is surrounded by undivided success throughout Europe, both in the Eastern and Western Christian worlds. The patron saint of several countries and cities, institutions and localities bear his name, knights, riders, scouts, gunsmiths, shepherds, farmers, but also the police respect him as a patron. He is one of the fourteen helpful saints and is classified among the military saints.
Vittore Carpaccio: Saint George Defeats the Dragon, 1502, Venice (Photo: Wikipedia)
Georgianus, born around 271 and martyred in 303, came from a noble Cappadocian family. Due to his aptitude, he reached a high rank as a soldier. He became a Christian under the influence of his mother, and when Emperor Diocletian began to persecute Christians, he resigned his office and rank and turned against him, for which he was imprisoned, tortured and executed.
He is typically depicted as a dragon slayer, which expresses the Christian belief that faith, determination and a courageous stand will eliminate temptation and defeat evil in all its forms. In the Middle Ages, the dragon symbolized evil and paganism, so defeating it meant the conversion of a pagan people or country.
György gained great prestige in the British Isles, where Richard the Lionheart chose him as his patron saint, and from 1222 he became the official patron of England. One of the first Hungarian aspects of the saint is that his image can be seen in the Byzantine part of the Hungarian Holy Crown. The first cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Gellért in honor of Saint George.
Representation of Saint George in the Hungarian-Anjou legendarium (Photo: Wikipedia)
Several geographical locations around the world and numerous localities, churches and institutions in the areas inhabited by Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin bear his name. He is also the patron saint of Portugal, Aragon, Catalonia, Lithuania, Serbia, Greece, Georgia, Ethiopia. Many of the cities also chose him as their patron saint, such as Barcelona, Moscow, London, Ljubljana, Genoa, Ferrara, Reggio Calabria, Istanbul and Beirut.
It is often depicted on coats of arms, coins, and flags of nations. We also meet his figure in the visual arts. The most famous statue of Saint George stands in Prague, which was created by the Cluj brothers in 1373. A copy of the statue can be seen in front of the Farkas Street Reformed Church. One of its later copies, set up in the public square, can be seen at the steps of the Fisherman’s Bastion, and a third can be seen in the Strawberry Garden. The fourth copy is in Szeged, on Rerrich Béla Square. It can be found on display in the Hungarian National Museum and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
He is the patron saint of the legendary orders of holy knights and cavalrymen, as the Order of Saint George, founded in Hungary, also bears his name. In the Muslim culture, he is revered as St. Dserdsis.
The work of the Cluj brothers, the statue of Saint George, 1373, original in Prague (Photo: Wikipedia)
St. George’s Day is an ancient shepherd’s holiday, which used to be the time for driving out the animals, and the day when shepherds, coachmen, and servants were hired. Many beliefs and customs were attached to this, with which they tried to ensure the health, reproduction and utilization of animals.
The animals were driven out with a green branch, which, according to folklore, served to increase the number of animals and prevent spoilage. “May the cattle be angry as the leaf on the green branch!” they said.
One of the protagonists of the day was the cow and its milk yield. The tools used for milking and milk processing were cleaned by smoking medicinal herbs or using their juice, and a new milking stick was set up.
St. George’s Day smoking, old picture (Photo: Fortepan)
On St. George’s night, they were especially afraid of the evil workings of witches. It was believed that whoever had the half-timber of the gate carved by the witches took away the benefit of the milk, so they used green branches, smoking, and garlic to protect against damage.
This day was considered suitable for magic. One of the typical St. George’s Day customs was gathering dew, which had a magical purpose and was done in order to achieve an abundant milk yield. They dragged linen aprons or their aprons in the dew while saying: “I’ll take it all…” or “I’ll bring butter, not milk, I’ll bring butter, not milk.” Meanwhile, they also gathered grass, which they put in front of the cow. They washed their faces with the squeezed-out dew, greased the milk pots and pans so that the milk would turn into a lot of butter.
By collecting St. George’s dew, they also tried to ensure the benefit of the farmland. A collector noted: “Whoever has a poor crop should go out to the field at midnight on St. George’s Day with a sheet and wherever he finds a good crop, pull the sheet along behind him, over his own crop, to get the dew on it, then it will be beautiful his grain.”
The fresh dew was also added to the bread dough to make the bread bake better. They used the dew to make patties, which were dried and salted and given to the cows so that they would milk well.
George’s Day was also a day of joy and fun. The shooting on St. George’s Day was a day for matching girls and boys, when the boys jokingly “shot” and called out the girls’ mistakes.
This day was also considered a weather forecasting day. “St. George’s Day rumble, good wine harvest” they said, but the sky echo on George’s Day was a harbinger not only of wine, but of a good harvest in general.
The thunder before St. George’s Day was believed to mean that if you heard it before St. George’s Day, there would be abundant blessings. The direction from which it is heard is expected to rain throughout the year. The thunder, like the rain on St. George’s Day, promises a bountiful harvest.
After St. George’s Day, you can’t even beat the grass back with a hammer – they say, so there is no fairy tale, the long-awaited spring will definitely arrive by then.
St. George’s Day drive-out celebration in Hortobágy in 2022 (Photo: Hortobágyi Nonprofit Kft.)
According to the inhabitants of the villages along the Ipoly, if the frogs call before this day, it predicts early spring and summer. In other landscape units, the same indicates a rainless summer. The frog was also used for healing, warts were cured with the dried frog and reading on it.
According to the Gyimes Valley Hungarians, those who bathe in the open air before St. George’s Day will not get sick the whole year.
Saint George’s Day was generally considered a suitable time for sowing corn, beans, and cucumbers. It promised a good harvest if the crow did not appear from the wheat.
As at Easter, it was also possible to visit the border, consecrate wheat, clean the wells, and renew the border signs.
As every year, Hortobágy and its surrounding areas celebrate St. George’s Day with festivals, cultural, traditional and gastronomic events. Those interested can learn about Hortobágy’s world heritage values at the St. George’s Day Outing Festival, at the Puszta Day, at the Craft Fair, at the Mátai Menes, where family programs often feature St. George’s Day songs and rhymes:
“On St. George’s Day, put up your sneer, your sneer,
herd the gouly, the gouly, out to the pasture!
I receive you, I feed you, you drink, I eat,
Until Saint Michael’s, you will be my good wage earner, you will be!”
Source: netfolk.blog.hu
(Kornélia Berényi/Felvidék.ma)
