La diada de Sant Jordi (as it is known in Catalan) is celebrated on the 23rd of April. As I am from England, I too celebrate Saint George’s Day. Usually on the 23rd of April I go the ‘pub’, which is aptly decorated with union jacks and other England paraphanalia and then with family and friends I have a drink or two. In Catalonia, La diada de Sant Jordi is celebrated a little differently.

Often likened to Valentine’s Day, La diada de Sant Jordi is the most amourous day of the Spanish year. Lovers walk hand in hand and the streets are filled with red roses and stories of love. In Catalonia it is tradition to give men (often family and friends as well as partners) a book and men traditionally give women roses, however today books are oftened exchanged between friends of all sexes. The streets in Barcelona and other cities in the principality are lined with street venders selling bunches of roses and with book stalls. It really is a beautiful sight to behold. It is estimated that on La diada de Sant Jordi, over 4 million roses are sold and almost 800,000 books, which is around half of the annual number of books sold in Catalonia! No wonder it feels like love is in the air…..

The traditional rose and book giving in Catalonia dates back a long way. The rose stems from the famous Sant Jordi myth. Legend says that after Sant Jordi killed the dragon, a red rose grew up from the ground where the dragons blood was spilt. The book giving element came later. On April 23rd 1616 both William Shakespere and famed Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes died. In 1923 a bookseller began to promote the day as a way to commemorate the death of these great authors and a tradition was born. This tradition was exported and in 1995 the UNESCO adopted the 23rd of April as World Book and Copyright Day.

Although famed for the giving of roses and books, other traditions take place in Catalonia on Sant Jordi. In many of the plazas around Barcelona you can witness groups doing the Sardana, the national dance of Catalonia. Many travel down to La Plaça Sant Jaume to watch the Sardana and then wonder around the Palau de Generalitat which is also located there. The Palau de Generalitat is the principal Government Building and La Diada de Sant Jordi is the only day of the year that it opens it’s doors to the public and of course the building is decorated throughout with roses.

Myth of Sant Jordi

According to legend, there was a terrifying dragon located in the village of Montblanc, south-west of Barcelona. The dragon ate all of the animals in the village and began eating the people of the village too. In order to satisfy the hunger of the dragon, the people of the village randomly chose a person each year to be sacrificed to the beast. One year the King’s daughters name was chosen but just before she was to be eaten a handsome knight, now known as Sant Jordi, rode into town and killed the beast with his sword, saving her life.

In the Barrio Gótico in Barcelona, many murals and sculptures can be seen of Sant Jordi. In these, Sant Jordi is often depicted on his horse with his sword in the air and on some murals he can be seen fighting the dragon. For those of you that are in Barcelona or plan to visit some time in the future, see how many times you spot Sant Jordi whilst walking around this historic area of the city.

Blogger: Narelle