My childhood recollection in St. John's, NL is that both St. Patrick's Day and St. George's Day were holidays, presumably to placate both the Irish Catholics and Protestants. I checked the present situation, knowing that there is no longer acrimony between the different Christian churches. I guess that government traditions change very slowly. My sources tell me that these are both provincial government holidays, but not statutory days. Stores and most services are open as usual. So, if you're a provincial government employee in Newfoundland and Labrador, you get to acknowledge both Patrick and George.
St. George is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of death in 303 AD. He is the patron saint of various nations, kingdoms and cities. He is one of the most venerated saints in Christianity, both Latin and Eastern. He is the national saint of England.
St. George's Day is known as the Feast of Saint George by the Palestinians and is celebrated in the Monastery of Saint George in al-Khader, near Bethlehem. In Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, evil things are said to occur on St. George's Day, beginning at midnight.
"Do you know what day it is?" I answered that it was the fourth of May [May 5 was then the feast in the Eastern Orthodox churches]. She shook her head as she said again: "Oh, yes! I know that, I know that! But do you know what day it is?" On my saying that I did not understand, she went on: "It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have sway?"
Legend says that St. George was a soldier in the Roman army who later became venerated as a Christian martyr. His parents were Christians of Greek background. He became an officer in the Roman army in the Guard of Diocletian, who ordered his death for failing to recant his Christian faith. St. George is considered one of the most prominent military saints. The exact details of his life are unknown. Pope Gelasius said in 494 that George was among those saints "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God."
George is immortalized in the myth of Saint George and killing of the dragon. This myth was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and embellished to make it more Romantic. One version of the legend recounts the fictional city of Silene in Libya. The town had a small lake with a dragon living in it. He had the plague, thus poisoning the countryside.To placate the dragon, the townspeople fed it two sheep each day. They ran out of sheep and then started feeding it their children, chosen by lottery. One time the lot fell to the king's daughter. The king, in his grief, told the people they could have all his gold and silver and half his kingdom if his daughter were spared. They refused and the daughter was sent out to the lake, to be fed to the dragon.
Saint George happened to ride past the lake. The princess tried to warn him to get away, but George vowed to remain. The dragon emerged from the lake. George made the Sign of the Cross and charged at the dragon with his lance, seriously wounding it. He shouted to the princess to throw him a garment, which he put around the dragon's neck. The dragon followed the girl like a tamed beast on a leash.
The princess and St. George led the dragon back to the city, frightening the townspeople. St. George offered to slay the dragon if they agreed to be baptized and become Christians. Fifteen thousand people, including the king of Silene, converted to Christianity. George then killed the dragon. The king built a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and George on the site where the dragon died. A spring flowed from its altar with healing water.