The Archbishop of York has spoken of his hope for a national holiday on St George’s Day.
Ministers are considering switching the May Bank Holiday to St
George’s Day on April 23 in a bid to increase tourism by starting the
holiday season earlier.
Writing in The Sun today, Dr John Sentamu encouraged people to put up
their St George’s crosses and celebrate England’s heritage.
“As someone who loves St George, I have long campaigned for us to
have a special holiday where we can celebrate our patron saint and all
that is great about our wonderful nation,” he said.
“There is so much to love about England.
“Why can’t we put aside one day a year where we can wave our English
flag of St George, sing songs about our proud history and maybe even
drink a pint of English real ale with our friends.”
Dr Sentamu has made previous appeals for a public holiday on St George’s Day as well as a more open celebration of Englishness.
In 2009, the Archbishop urged people to enjoy their English identity
rather than forego it “for fear of causing upset or offence to those who
claim such an identity has no place in a multicultural society”.
He said it was possible to be patriotic and appreciate the country
you live in without being a xenophobe or “blinkered nationalist”.
The Archbishop has also criticised multiculturalism on several
occasions, saying once in an interview with The Times that the term
wrongly implied that other cultures should be allowed to express
themselves but not the majority culture.
The church is marking St George's Day this year on May 2 as Holy
Saturday, when Christ lay in the tomb the day before his resurrection,
falls this year on April 23.
The Archbishop has written to Government ministers calling on them to hold official celebrations on May 2.