During my three years at University, I have not once missed out on an opportunity to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Each year, I look forward to the day of celebration, months in advance, which usually take place in the very familiar setting of Molly Malone’s, where the festivities involve downing baby Guinness’ with friends whilst horrifically attempting to Riverdance. This mass celebration is not solely reserved for Sheffield students, and thus students up and down the country flock to bars, pubs, and clubs, desperate to celebrate with a pint of Guinness.
Year after year, the English embrace the Irish celebration with open arms, revelling in the festivities. But why does St Patrick’s Day, a day dedicated to Ireland’s patron Saint, resonate so strongly with the English? Why does the same level of excitement not extend to our own patron Saint, St George, and what is the reason behind this?
There is almost an irony in our extreme engagement and admiration with the Irish celebration, with many of us holding St Paddy’s Day close to our heart; whilst in contrast, many of us would struggle to recall what month St George’s Day falls in. So, I question why this is the case? Is it purely a matter of the English population preferring a Guinness to a Carling? Let’s be frank, no one wants to don the St George’s cross and go up West St having a Carling in each pub. But it is not just this, there is a deeper meaning behind the lack of celebration of St George’s Day.
The lack of established tradition, celebrating St George’s Day, can be attributed to its lacking recognition as an established holiday in the UK; unlike St Patrick’s Day, which is unsurprisingly a national holiday in Ireland. Thus, with the influx of Irish immigrants settling in the UK, as well as students visiting for university here in England, the Irish bring along their enthusiasm for St Patrick’s day, whilst St George’s Day gets left in the shadows. This is because St Patrick’s day is associated with fun, the Irish celebrate it in the pubs, singing songs, dancing etc. and St George’s day has never had that, and I cannot see modern day England ever feeling the need to embrace it.
Now the question of whether St George’s Day deserves the same level of engagement as St Patrick’s Day, can be quite contentious. I asked one of my housemates, and she gave me a firm no, she might as well have laughed in my face, because you must admit, if someone asked you to go to the pub with them to celebrate St George, you would be a little confused. Even though there have been multiple attempts to encourage a more dynamic and celebrated St George’s day, such as Boris Johnson in 2009, who tried to get England to ‘reclaim St George’s Day’, none of these attempts have been overly successful. Modern day England is a multicultural and diverse society, and hence some people view promoting a singular nationality as overly exclusionary, and hence could be viewed as an extremely backwards concept to celebrate in the 21st century. I believe that if we as a country decided that we wanted to unite, to celebrate in a more inclusive way, then we would; however, I don’t believe that that is the case. People are perfectly happy to leave St George’s day in the shadows and focus on other more inclusive, less nationalistic, celebrations.
On the whole, I attribute the diminished enthusiasm for St George’s Day at universities, to the drinking culture, and thus lack thereof surrounding St George’s Day. The correlation with St Paddy’s Day and opportunity to drink, is what increases our attachment to the day. While our appreciation for Irish culture and its principles is certainly genuine, our enjoyment and attachment to the day stems from its capacity to offer a day filled with drinking, activities, and genuine joy. Hence, the lack of a similar tradition set in stone for St George’s Day means we don’t feel permitted or expected to celebrate the day.