A Day For The English

A Short Scroll

Apr 12, 2024

In November last year, British journalist Peter Hitchens wrote A Brit's Ode to Thanksgiving. In this piece, he wistfully recollects the Britain of his younger days, recalling, among other things, Protestant Sundays and church bells. He laments the loss of a time when more people in Britain observed or at least respected church tradition.

Hitchens refers to festivals that he enjoys and reasons that Thanksgiving beats all the others. It ‘has always been my idea of what a national public holiday should be’. After noting his happy experiences of the occasion in the United States, he suggests that there should be a British Thanksgiving, and he names the Thursday nearest to Winston Churchill's birthday on November 30th as an appointed time for celebration. While his suggestion may have some merit, the British public would see it as an American import and not a truly British celebration, regardless of its relation of the holiday to both British and American history.

Tying such an event with Churchill is a bad idea. Thanksgiving does not cohere with World War II. There would be confusion. Would such an event be about giving thanks in a religious sense? Or would it be an invitation for people to rejoice in the defeat of the Nazis? Maybe I too readily assume that the suggestion to link the event with Churchill relates specifically to World War II. Even if it does not, such a connection is unavoidable. More importantly, we do need to get more of our people to cease regarding the Allied victory in 1945 as some Moses with the tablets at Mount Sinai moment. Undoubtedly, World War II was an event of great magnitude and poignancy; this does not mean that the war, its aftermath, and the subsequent international order of ‘human rights’ should define our national identity.

Another factor against the idea is that November 30th is St. Andrew’s Day. Hitchens suggests a British bank holiday on the Thursday closest to that date and, therefore, two patriotic holidays in Scotland within a week. This would risk a struggle for recognition of the new event in Scotland.

After reading Hitchens's piece, I could not help but think about when an additional national public holiday should be. Should another national holiday come to pass, there are more suitable choices than a British Thanksgiving. Perhaps the Welsh and the English should each be granted a national holiday over a broadly British event. Northern Ireland has ten bank holidays a year. Scotland has nine; Wales and England have eight. It would be fair to add St. David’s Day to the list for Wales and St. George’s Day for England. I would prioritise this course over any new celebration. St. Andrew's Day is a public holiday in Scotland.

Although I favour giving due recognition to St. David’s Day and St. George’s Day over something else, I do have some concerns from an English perspective. I do not feel that the establishment, in the broad sense of that word, can be trusted with managing St. George’s Day or any national celebration. Great damage could be done. Recently, we have seen the desecration of the Cross of St. George. Nike's new England football kit insultingly adapts the flag by using alternative colours. The treasonous wear was approved by the Football Association. With all this in mind, one can easily imagine what might happen if April 23rd became a bank holiday. Corporations might offer a “playful twist” not only on our flag but on our identity more broadly. In concert with public bodies, they might try and make it “inclusive” to the point of nullity. The same or worse would probably happen with Hitchen’s idea. Given the current climate, it might on balance be favourable that St George’s Day exists as a quasi subterranean fixture.

Ideally, St. George’s Day would be a bank holiday, but things in England are far from ideal. We know that on April 23, notice of St. George’s Day will not be displayed on screens at train stations. Supermarkets will not be decked out in bunting to draw your attention to thematically arranged products inviting you to celebrate the occasion. Corporations and most public bodies will ignore it. We ought not to lament these things too much. Under the radar, events occur on the closest weekend to St. George’s Day. Instead of lamenting the absence of a public holiday to mark it, get out of the house and go somewhere around the time of the event. For ideas, have a look at stgeorgesholiday.com. Enjoy a reenactment of the dragon slaying, the proud display of English aesthetics, native food, ale, mead, falconry, and some arts and crafts. It is a day to celebrate our heritage and enjoy a sense of kinship. We do not need a state proclamation to allow this.

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