Flags and saints

The Saint George’s cross is the Englishflag. Saint George the patron saint of England. He was a soldier famous for saving the Princess Cleolinda from being eaten by a dragon. He wounded the dragon and took it back to the city of Silene on a lead like a dog. Saint George’s Day is celebrated on 23 April. Saint George is also the patron saint of Germany, Portugal and

Greece.

The Saint Patrick’s cross is the former flag of Ireland. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

He was born about AD 390. He converted the Irish to Christianity and is supposed to have got

rid of all the snakes in Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on 17 March.

The Saint Andrew’s cross is the Scottish flag. Saint Andrew, a fisherman, was one

of the twelve apostles who followed Jesus Christ. Paintings of Saint Andrew often

show him being killed on an X-shaped cross. Saint Andrew’s Day is celebrated on 30

November. He is the patron saint of both Scotland and Russia.

The Welsh flag shows a dragon. Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, started a number of monasteries

in the country. Paintings of Saint David normally show him with a dove on his shoulder. His relics are now

in Saint David’s Cathedral in Wales. Saint David’s Day is celebrated on 1 March.

The British flag, known as the Union Jack, is a combination of three flags: the Saint Andrew’s cross, the

Saint Patrick’s cross and the Saint George’s cross.

1. Correct the sentences that are false.

a) If you hold a British passport, you are from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

b) Someone from Scotland can represent GB in the Olympic Games.

c) A person from the Republic of Ireland is British.

2. Look at the map of the British Isles. Correct the sentences that are false.

a) The capital of Wales is Swansea.

b) The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

c) It is more mountainous in the south than in the north of Britain.

d) The highest mountain in England is Ben Nevis.

e) The river which runs through Oxford and London is the Thames.

3. Complete the sentences.

f) London is in the ……… -east of Britain.

g) Birmingham is …………… of London, in a part of Britain called the Midlands.

h) Bristol is in the ……… -west of Britain.

4. What is the equivalent of county in Russia?

5. a) Which British country is not represented on the Union Jack?

b) What does Russian flag represent?

c) Who is the patron saint in Russia? Why is he famous?

d) What awards connected with the names of patron saints are known in Russia?