The English want to celebrate St George's Day, England's patron saint, in a similar manner to the way the Irish mark St Patrick's Day.

An online survey by ICM, which was carried out before the Festival of Englishness in London on Friday, shows that 76 percent of those polled believe the saint's day should be celebrated. Sixty-six percent said that St Patrick's Day is more widely celebrated in Britain than St George's Day.

Only 40 percent of those polled knew that St George's Day was held on April 23, reports Daily Telegraph.

Twenty-nine percent of those surveyed believed the English just did not care enough about the day to celebrate, while 41 percent believed the lack of celebration for St George's Day was due to the day not being a Bank Holiday.

Sixty-one percent also said they'd like to see the English flag flown more across the country.

“Why shouldn’t we be able to celebrate Englishness?" said Sunder Katwala, the director and co-organizer of thinktank, British Future.

“We’re all happy to come together as a nation when there’s football or cricket on, so why keep the flags in the drawer for the rest of the year?

“It’s a bit baffling that people in England will happily enjoy a pint of Guinness on St Patrick’s Day but then get nervous about celebrating St George’s Day too.

“We need to get over it and celebrate Englishness more.”