Nub News salute to NHS Covid heroes: Today has been renamed St George Eliot's Day

A SMALL TRIBUTE TO A GIANT EFFORT TO SLAY THE DRAGON CALLED CORONAVIRUS

THE HEROICS of NHS workers and carers across Atherstone and North Warwickshire battling Covid-19 should be rewarded with a bank holiday, two in three Britons believe.

Medical, nursing and care leaders also back the idea, according to research by the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank.

In addition, next Tuesday (April 28) will see those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the face of world's deadliest killer outside wars in a 100 years honoured with a nationwide minute's silence at 11am.

Healthcare unions – led by Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives – began the call for this action and MPs have thrown their weight behind it. At least 80 health professionals have been confirmed as losing their lives to the virus.

At Atherstone's main hospital – the George Eliot – Mars confectioner Nestlé have given out a huge supply of those famous chocolate caramel bars that were meant to help you "work, rest and play".

The Eliot's medical education team has been busy distributing the bars to more than 100 students – who have joined the clinical staff in supporting the NHS heroes – plus doctors as part of the wellbeing initiative, and understandably "greatly appreciated".

That word 'appreciation' got Nub News thinking.

Last week we highlighted how Twycross Zoo supporters voted to name a new-born Kirk's Dik-Dik antelope 'George' in recognition of the "amazing" work of NHS staff at Atherstone's main hospital.

So, what small gesture could we offer as a thank you on our readers' behalf – and then we looked at today's date.

It's St George's Day – the patron saint of England AND the Royal Family but this year set to be a quieter affair due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

So perhaps we can still make it a memorable one?

The NHS staff of the George Eliot Hospital have been more than heroes – going way past "above and beyond" in trying to slay the dragon that is coronavirus.

We know that at a reported one in eight of nearly 200 staff tested for the virus were 'positive' and would have had to step away from the frontline for a recommended period of isolation.

Hospitals chiefs across the Midlands are reporting a "stabilising" of patients being admitted and Health Secretary Matt Hancock is talking about the UK having reached its peak of cases – but world health experts are warning that there is still a "long way to go" and Covid-19 is "not going away".

So before our now weekly 8pm #ClapForCarers, we thought it would be good to rename today St George Eliot's Day as a fitting tribute for all those who have toiled against seemingly insurmountable odds to deliver ALL patients – both Covid and other emergency cases – back onto safety's shore.

Before you get a history lesson below on the merits of England's patron saint – let us not forget tonight sees the start of the holy month of Ramadan and for the Muslims the world over this year will be unique in how it is observed.

Many of the traditions around Ramadan involve gathering together, community work and charity, which has to be compromised due to social distancing restrictions

New guidance released by The Muslim Council of Britain includes organising taraweeh at home as a family and pray in congregation, streaming Islamic lectures in the home, and arranging virtual iftars with loved ones and community members through online video calling.

History of St George

St. George is now a highly celebrated saint in both Western and Eastern Christian churches and a huge number of patronages of St George exist all over the world. Since the 14th century, St George has been both England's patron saint and the protector of the royal family. His cross forms England's national flag and features within the Union Flag of the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The early life of St George is relatively unknown with accounts differing in regards to his place of birth. Some believe George was born in Cappadocia and others that he originates from Syria Palaestina, but it is agreed by many that he was raised at least partly in the Lydda area of Palestine. It is believed his parents were Christian, belonged to nobility and were of Greek heritage. His father, Gerontius, was a Roman army official from Cappadocia, and his mother, Polychronia, was from Lydda, Palestine.

George's father died when he was 14 years of age and he then returned with his mother to her homeland of Syria Palestina.

Aged 17, shortly after his mother's death, George travelled to the capital at Nicomedia, where he then joined the Roman army, climbing through the ranks and being promoted to the rank of military tribune by his late twenties, where he was stationed as an imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedia.

How did St. George become a martyr?

On February 24 in 303 AD, the Emperor Diocletian, issued an order that every Christian soldier in the army should be degraded and that every soldier was required to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. George, when seeing this, distributed his wealth to the poor and confronted the emperor, declaring himself to be a Christian. It is believed that the Emperor then tortured George in order to get him to deny his faith and convert, but George withstood this torture and refused to cave. George was then executed in front of Nicomedia's city wall on April 23 303, where his courage and faith made him a martyr. His body was returned to Lydda for burial and his head later taken to Rome where it became interred in the church dedicated to him.

What is the legend of St George?

Stories of George's strength and courage began to spread throughout Europe, and the legend of his fight with a dragon became the best-known story about him.

George was first credited with slaying a dragon around the 12th century, but his name started to become known in England as early as the eighth century.

The legendary story about George and the Dragon is that St. George fought and killed a dragon on the flat-topped Dragon Hill in Uffington, Berkshire, where it is said that no grass now grows where the dragon's blood trickled down.

Although it was around the 12th century that Crusaders first invoked his name as an aid in battle, King Edward III didn't make him the patron saint of England until 1350, where King Edward III formed the Order of the Garter in St. George's name.

Stories surrounding our patron saint continued to be perpetuated.

Shakespeare carved George's name in the nation's mind and history with the iconic line Henry V, when the King ends his pre-battle speech with the renowned phrase, 'Cry God for Harry, England and St. George!'.

How do people celebrate St George's Day?

Traditionally people used to celebrate St. George's Day by partaking in feasts, but this started to wane in the 18th century.

Although usually a much more subdued affair than the likes of St Patrick's Day, authorities across England usually fly the national flag, which is called St George's Cross, and some villages would normally put on fairs and perform the Morris dance, or head to the local pub for a pint.