Georgia celebrates St. George's Day

Today, Georgia is celebrating one of the most important religious holidays in the country - the St. George's Day or Giorgoba.

Festive services, dedicated to this day, are held in all the acting churches of Georgia. Especially this holiday is celebrated in the Georgian monasteries.

George the Victorious - the rider slaying a dragon - is embodied on the national emblem of Georgia, being the traditional patron saint of the country.

The St George's Day is celebrated twice - on November 23 and on May 6. In is the national holiday and declared as the day off.

According to the legend, the festival was founded by St. Nino. It is known that she was a relative of St. George and she bequeathed the country, which had converted to Christianity, to love him. In the Middle Ages, a total of 365 chapels - the number of days in a year - were built in different parts of Georgia in the name of St. George. The first temple in his honor was built by King Mirian in 335.

Georgy is the most popular and common name in Georgia. Today, there are more than 190 thousand people named Georgy in the country.

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II will hold a festive service today in the Church of the Martyr Saint George the Victorious in Moscow, and then meet with representatives of the Georgian Diaspora in Moscow.

The St. George's Day, or Jeorguba is also celebrated in North Ossetia. In the country it is celebrated since Sunday on the eve of November 23 during a week. St. George is the most respected saint for the Ossetian people and for the entire multinational republic.

On November 20, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Commission for UNESCO, the former head of North Ossetia, a bearer of Azerbaijan's Order of Friendship, Alexander Dzasokhov, gathered his friends to celebrate this festival in Moscow in the Central House of Actors.