It’s the same with flags, these are not the divine right of ethnicity, but of the country, region or county and for all the people that live there. For example, if someone from England was to move to India or Italy, join in celebrations of that country or its regions it would be welcome. The same applies in England. Wherever you come from, being part of your now home county or region and joining in with celebrations is your right. Its not exclusive to any particular grouping.
Moving on, and one date in the calendar of growing significance is June 15th, Magna Carta Day. A modern tradition of celebrating this day is to tie an orange ribbon (a symbol of liberty) around a tree.
Below are a few more facts about Magna Carta Day and why we see it as an important date to celebrate.
1. Magna Carta Day almost became a public holiday
Magna Carta Day falls on 15 June each year, and it’s a chance to celebrate western liberty, which we may well take for granted.
So influential was the document that there were proposals in 1947 to make this date a public holiday in the British Empire and the United States, as an opportunity to emphasise Anglo-American co-operation.
It was discussed by parliament but some civil servants opposed the day being a holiday as they feared that a celebration of liberty might provoke opposition to British imperial rule. Ultimately, the civil servants had their way and the proposal was dismissed.
2. The Magna Carta gave us all the right to a fair trial
The Magna Carta was created in 1215 and signed by King John of England in Runnymede, Surrey, in a bid to halt a vicious war between him and some rebel barons.
It limited the power of the monarch, stated that the king must obey the law and not receive feudal payments, and most importantly, established human rights for everyone in England.
Among the original 63 clauses in the 1215 Magna Carta – many of which dealt with King John’s wrongdoings during his tyrannical reign – were the right to a fair trial by jury for all ‘free men’.
So when someone is granted a fair trial in this country (which does not happen everywhere), it’s thanks to the Magna Carta.
The original charter also included a clause demanding that people should be fined in proportion to their crime, so as not to threaten their livelihood.
3. It wasn’t known as the Magna Carta until 1217
The Magna Carta was originally drawn up as the Articles Of The Barons when King John signed it.
It only became known as The Magna Carta after the document had been annulled by the Pope, John had been killed in the Baron’s War and his nine-year-old heir, King Henry III, became king at the age of nine.
The name ‘Magna Carta’ means ‘Great Charter’, though the longer 1217 document had the original title ‘Magna Carta Libertatum’, which translates as ‘the Great Charter of the Liberties’.
4. Royals haven’t always followed its rules
The charter states that no monarch is above the law, stating: ‘If it was God’s law, then the king must be below it; he must obey the law himself, as well as enforce it.’
However, that didn’t stop a number of monarchs ignoring it completely. Henry VIII continued to torture and kill his enemies with the help of Sir Thomas Cromwell his trusted advisor.
And his daughters Queen Elizabeth I and Bloody Mary didn’t exactly tow the line when it came to chopping and burning people either.
But luckily Princess Anne’s experiences in court, pleading guilty to speeding in 2001 and letting her dog attack two children in 2002, show that today no royal is above the law.
5. Women have the Magna Carta to thank for some early progress
While 21st-century feminists would be hard-pushed to reclaim this document as pro-women, it did enable widows to claim their full and fair inheritance.
Kind of astonishing they hadn’t been allowed to by that point.
It also prevented widows from being forced into second marriages against their wishes.
County Days in June
DORSETSHIRE
Dorset Day is on the 1st June – the feast day of Saint Wite
DEVON
Devon Day is on the 4th of June, the feast day of Saint Petroc
WILTSHIRE
Wiltshire Day is on the 5th June. On this date in 2007 that the “Great Bustard” flag was flown for the first time at County Hall, Trowbridge
SUSSEX
Sussex Day is the the 16th of June, the feast day of local saint, Richard. Saint Richard
SUFFOLK
A joint initiative of BBC Radio Suffolk and the East Anglian Daily Times, supported by Suffolk County Council, June 21st, the longest day of the year, was selected as the Suffolk county day to highlight the fact that the county is the most easterly. November 20th, the feast day of Saint Edmund, the county’s patron saint and the last King of East Anglia, whose armorial banner is another significant date
HERTFORDSHIRE
With no official day for Hertfordshire, Cultural England is proposing St.Alban's Day on June 22nd should be adopted as the official county day for the Hertfordshire
Celebrations & Festivities in June
15th Magna Carta Day
21st Stonehenge Solstice Celebrations
23rd Cornish Midsummer Fires (Cornish Festivity)
24th Leicester Damask Rose Ceremony
24th Midsummer Day (Feast day of St.John the Baptist. Traditional Bonfire Day)
29th Warcop Rushbearing
All Month Well Dressing
Saturday near 29th May (may be in early June) Fownhope Heart of Oak Society Annual Club Walk
Sunday near 30th May (sometimes in June) Bawbugh St Walstan's Day
A Weekday in June London Knollys Rose Ceremony
A Saturday in May or June Kent World Custard Pie Championships
A Sunday early in the month Witney World Pooh Sticks Championships
Weekday early in month Barking Nepton Distribution
A Saturday in May,June or July Fenny Bentley World Toe Wrestling Championships
A Sunday in June Tyburn Walk
Friday after Spring Bank Holiday Chipping Campden Cotswold Olympicks & Shin Kicking Competition
Weekend after Spring Bank Holiday Thaxted Morris
1st Thursday Neston Ladies Day
1st Week Appleby Horse Fair
1st Week West Linton Whipman Play
2nd SaturdayLondon Trooping the Colour
A Saturday mid Month The Gate to Southwell
A Saturday mid Month Great Knaresborough Bed Race
Weekend mid month Middlewich Folk & Boat
A Sunday mid Month Bishops Castle Midsummer Rejoicing
3rd Saturday Appleton Thorn Bawming the Thorn
3rd SaturdayOvingham Goose Fair
Saturday nearest 19th Abingdon Election of Mayor of Ock Street
Friday nearest 21st Ashmore Filly Loo
Saturday before 21st Marshwood World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship
Wednesday late in Month Leigh Parish Lands Candle Auction
Weekend late in Month Chester Midsummer Watch Parade
Saturday late in Month Penzance Mazey Day & Golowan Festival (Cornish Festivity)
Saturday late in Month St Albans Pilgrimage
Saturday late in Month Willaston World Worm Charming Championships
4th Thursday Bury St Edmunds Jankyn Smith Charity Cakes & Ale
Week of 24th Youlgrave Welldressing
Sunday near 24th Oxford Wall Pulpit Sermon
Last Week Newcastle Hoppings
Last Monday Hepworth Feast & Plague Commemoration
Last Saturday Abram Morris Dance
Last Saturday Swaton World Egg Throwing Championships & Russian Egg Roulette
Last Weekend Barrowden Rush Strewing
Sunday after 29th (may be in July) Edgmond Clipping Service
Saturday in late June , July or August Hernhill Three Horseshoes Wheelie Bin Race
Friday near July 1st Warrington Walking Day