In any case, the flag of St. George is analagous not to the Stars and Stripes but to the flag of the Confederacy.

Only idiots get aerated about flags.

The problem is that the British/Union or whatever flag it is, is always going to upset someone so it seems. We have got so used to apologising for being 'us'. We colonised a lot of places and were a bit rotterish in some of them, and we were pretty good slave traders too - but how many times can we say sorry? Then the National Front swiped our flag and anything nationalistic is now mired in right wing bigotry. We have a very nervous relationship with St. George. Being 'A Proud Briton' has become a dodgy thing to do. The Daily Mail backing the cabbie makes me feel she's probably dodgy too.

Canada Day brought a lump to my throat here, all the kids and parents of every tongue and colour were waving a flag and being happy together. I don't think that's ever going to happen in the UK?

It happens in the UK. Plenty of solidarity at the Jubilee and Olympic events for example. The difference in Canada I think is that the "sense of national ownership" is more equal as apart from the First Nations, evereryone is a recent immigrant.

This came up in discussion with friends on Thanksgiving when we were talking about what national holidays there are in the UK and realising that there aren't really any that annually celebrate the country. I mean, the only patron saint anyone seems to care about is St Paddy (for obvious reasons)! The closest one I could think of that people actually cared about was Guy Fawkes, and surely that's sorta against Britain? We just have May Day and Summer Bank Holidays... Which are days off and nothing to celebrate.

In its historical context, apart from the while buring a guy thing, Bonfire Night is a celebration of discovering a terrorist plot and saving the government of the day, King, nobles etc.

Not sure how you have decided it is against Britaiin, perhaps you could explain.

May Day is a celebration of spring, which is rather lovely i think. The holiday at the end of May is Whitsun or Pentecost. A church thing.
I have no idea whatthe August one is about.

That might upset the Cornish.

They can use a pastie

Who gets the ice cream?

The stick of rock?

Haha, I understand the historical context... But I always get the impression more than it's celebrating Guy Fawkes than the opposite! I mean, we still have the bonfires, but few people actually burn a Guy Fawkes anymore. It's mostly about the fireworks, which I always considered to represent the gunpowder used in the plot.

Perhaps it's just the way that it was celebrated in the community I'm from!

Hmmm. Maybe Hampshire for the ice cream and Lancashire for the rock.

Blackpool?

Aren't they the things you stick on nipples?

My avatar is the flag of Lincolnshire.

You live and learn (and such stickers might be offensive ). I seem to have used the American spelling of pasty. Or perhaps deriving the singular from the plural.