The feast of Saint George is one of the most important of the Christian Orthodox faith. It is also a day that almost all families celebrate, since the name George is the most common among the male population in Greece. The last time St. George’s Day was moved to after April 23rd was in 2022.
According to the Orthodox tradition, the great feast of St. George is influenced by Lent and the day that occurs each year at Easter.
Resurrection is a movable holiday and is calculated based on the Full Moon. Easter is defined as the Sunday after the first Full Moon that rises after the vernal equinox. So depending on the date on which Easter is celebrated, the feast of Saint George is also determined.
Saint George 2024 – Feast of May 6
If April 23 falls within Lent, then the feast is moved to the day after Easter. In fact, observing the last years, the transfer of the holiday has happened in 2013, 2016 and 2019, 2021, 2022 while it is expected to happen again this year (2024) where the holiday is moved to May 6, 2024.
As reported by ekklisiaonline.gr, the same happens with the feast of Saint Mark the Apostle and Evangelist. His memorial day is April 25. As with the feast of St. George, the feast day of the Apostle Mark is moved after Easter if it is after April 25. In the case of Agios Markos, the feast is moved two days after Easter, on Shrove Tuesday.
In rarer cases, we also have the feast of Saint Athanasios the Great, where he normally celebrates on May 2nd with the Removal of his Holy Relics. However, when Easter is after April 30, the holiday is moved to the Wednesday of Lent so that it does not coincide with the feasts of Saint George and Saint Mark on Monday and Tuesday of Lent respectively.
