Fascinating - Yorkshire Day

What is Yorkshire Day?

Did you know that the 1st August is Yorkshire day? If you did it is also likely that you know that the White rose is the symbol of Yorkshire and the Red rose the symbol for Lancashire? All good so far.

Now it is said that Yorkshire Day goes back to the Wars of the Roses, but how can this be true if it is believed that neither side used a rose as its symbol during that conflict?

The Wars of the Roses take its name from the colour of the roses; red for Lancaster and white for York that each house ‘supposedly’ used as their emblem. This legend took root after William Shakespeare and others wrote about it, but most modern historians maintain that neither side was identified by a floral symbol. 

The white rose was not used by the Yorks, and the red rose of Lancaster was likely not adopted until the 1480s, when the conflict was nearly over. The name, “Wars of the Roses,” meanwhile, wasn’t coined until the 19th century.

The Yorkist symbol was the White Boar and Lancaster was the Three Lions and there they remain.

With gratitude to Bro. Gus Hayles - Pegasus Forces Lodge No. 9393

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