“I am a servant of Christ, my God, and trusting in Him, I have come among you voluntarily, to bear witness concerning the Truth.” When an official asked, “What is Truth?” St. George replied: “Christ Himself... is Truth.”

— St George the Great Martyr

Feast Day Celebrated April 23

Saint George the Great Martyr is one of the most beloved saints in the Orthodox Christian Church, inspiring countless generations of faithful with his courage, unwavering faith, and devotion to Christ. While the heart of every feast day is found in participating in the divine services of the Church — many Orthodox families also long to bring the joy of the feast into their homes in meaningful ways. In this blogpost, I’m sharing simple and fun ideas to help your family celebrate Saint George together, including Orthodox recipes, family activities, children’s crafts, hymns and songs, saint-inspired videos, and faith-filled traditions that can deepen your children’s love for this holy martyr. Whether you are looking for ways to celebrate Saint George Feast Day, teach children about Saint George the Great Martyr, or create meaningful Orthodox Christian family traditions, I hope these ideas encourage your family to grow in faith, strengthen your devotion to God, and cultivate a deeper love for the saints within the life of the Orthodox Church.

Who is Saint George?

Saint George the Great Martyr and Trophy-Bearer was a Christian Roman soldier who was martyred for his faith during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian in 303 AD. Born to a pious Christian family in the late third century, George was raised in Lydda, after the martyrdom of his father. He became a respected and accomplished soldier, eventually serving in the emperor’s personal guard.

When Diocletian ordered the persecution of Christians throughout the empire, St. George boldly confessed Christ before the emperor, distributed his possessions to the poor, and refused to renounce his faith. He endured severe tortures with unwavering trust in God, and through God’s power he was miraculously preserved. After many witnessed his faith and miracles — including the conversion of Empress Alexandra — St. George was ultimately beheaded for Christ and buried in Lydda, where Christians honored him as a great martyr.

One of the most beloved traditions surrounding St. George is the story of the dragon. According to tradition, a terrible serpent terrorized a city near Beirut, demanding human sacrifices. When the ruler’s daughter was chosen, St. George arrived on horseback, made the sign of the Cross, and defeated the beast in the name of Christ. Through this miracle, many people came to believe in Jesus Christ and were baptized.

Today, St. George remains one of the most beloved saints in the Orthodox Church and is honored as the patron saint of many places, including England, Georgia, and Moscow.

Family Activity Ideas to Celebrate St George:

Attend Divine Liturgy

The most important way we celebrate any feast is by our participation in the Divine services. If a Liturgy is being offered, go! Even more special, if there is a parish nearby with the patron saint of St George, make a pilgrimage to attend Divine Liturgy there! We love traveling to our local parishes on their feast day to join in their special joy!

Slay Your Own Dragon (Piñata)

One great way to help kids remember the story is by acting it out. Have your kiddos dress as a soldier and create your own dragon to slay! It can be out of pillows/blankets, or something you print and create (HERE). We purchased a unicorn pinata (only one we could find) and painted it green to resemble a dragon and hung it to our tree using a jump rope. My kids loved it and thought it was so fun to slay their own dragon like St George, and enjoy some candy bounty as well.

Dress Up and Recreate the Story of St George & the Dragon

This year we had a princess, St George (knight), dragon, and a white horse! My kids enjoyed using the costumes we already had to be repurposed to re-tell the story of St George. Of course they had to keep their costumes on while slaying the dragon!

Set up a Feast Day Table

In our family, every feast is celebrated together around the table. Its the central place in our home where we learn, share meals, talk and grow as a family. With many of our beloved saints, especially those that we feel a connection and special devotion to, we will set up a feast day table with simple decorations. My daughters helped me gather some figures: dragons, a damsel in distress, a knight - and we borrowed an icon of St George, and displayed a book about his life and our April children’s synaxarion. I left them out on the table all day, and the children would gather around the table and look through the book, and act out the story throughout the day. It was a very low prep activity and elevated his feast day in our home.

Make “Dragon” Noodles for Dinner

My kids were all about the “dragon” noodles, which is essentially a spicy asian inspired noodles. It gets the name dragon from the very spicy sauce, so like a dragon, you too can breath fire out of your mouth! When I told my kids that, they were scared and begged me not to make it too spicy. So we had a rather tame “dragon” noodle dish for dinner with very little fire breathing elements. But it was all fun just the same. I love a feast day theme. You can find the recipe we used here:

Recipe

Listen to a Song about St George

If you don’t know who Gigi Baba is yet, let me be the one to introduce you! Gigi is a priest wife, educator, and an incredible song writer/singer! She creates fantastic and catchy songs for Orthodox Christian kids to help them learn about our faith. This one is particularly fun because it is her own patron saint, so she tells the children “I want to tell you about a saint, it happens to be my patron saint..” and goes on to share details about his life. You’ll be singing the lyrics “George my George, G-e-o-r-g-e George, feast day April 23rd, one of the greatest saints we’ve heard.” all day long!

Read the Life of St George

One of the simplest and best ways to learn about the life of a saint is to read about their life! There are many great resources out there to read about St George from Orthodox publishers. Take a look at the list below of my book recommendations!

Book Recommendations:

St George and the Dragon by Jim Forest
St George and the Dragon Small Paterikon for Kids by Potamitis Publishing
St George and the Dragon Hardcover by Potamitis Publishing
April My Synaxarion by Potamitis Publishing (pictured above)
101 Orthodox Saints by Ancient Faith Publishing

Watch a Short Video for Kids about St George

Check out this Video by Patristix about Saints & Dragons (for older kids)

Final Thoughts

When celebrating Orthodox feast days in our home, I always try to focus on two simple but meaningful things: attending the divine services and teaching my children about the saint or feast day. Sometimes that looks like showing them the icon of Saint George the Great Martyr, reading his life together, or talking about his courage and faith in Christ. Even in busy seasons of motherhood, those small moments matter deeply.

My prayer is that these Orthodox Christian family traditions will plant seeds of faith in our children’s hearts and help them grow in love for Christ, His saints, and the life of the Church. If your family is able to incorporate some of these Saint George Feast Day ideas — whether through recipes, activities, crafts, or a feast day table — I hope they help deepen your devotion to God and bring joy to your home.

Every season of family life looks different, and faithfulness does not have to be elaborate. Whether you simply attend the Divine Liturgy or also create special traditions at home, the most important thing is drawing closer to Christ together as a family.

May Saint George the Trophy-Bearer intercede for your family, and may the Lord richly bless your efforts to raise your children in the Orthodox faith.

Blessed Feast, friends!