I'm a little late in writing this, as Sant Jordi was on Thursday- but I couldn't lose the opportunity to write about this wonderful Catalan festival.
When I first walked around Barcelona, I wondered why there were England flags etched into all of the Gothic walls. It was only during a Gothic Quarter walking tour that all was revealed...my home country and Catalonia actually share the same patron saint, St. George, or Sant Jordi- and so of course share the same flag. The legend seems very similar- there is still a dragon and a princess- just with a slight Catalan twist.
Throughout the year, my Catalan friends have been telling me that La Diada de Sant Jordi is their favourite festival. You see, Sant Jordi is like Valentine's Day for Catalans- a time to celebrate love, literacy, and the patron saint of Catalonia. Traditionally, women receive a rose and men receive a book; today, although this custom still stands, it seems to have evolved into more of a joint rose/book festival that everybody can enjoy.
So where did the very unique tradition of books come from? According to that good ol' reliable resource, Wikipedia, it all started in 1923, when a bookseller wanted to commemorate the simultaneous deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare on 23rd April, 1616. Before long, Barcelona's natural creative energy ensured that this became a regular part of La Dia de Sant Jordi, and today the two are inseperable.
All day, every street has dozens of stands selling hundreds of books; some of the bigger streets, such as La Rambla and Rambla Cataluyna, even had authors signing their books as well. Any festival that involves giving books is fantastic in my book (pun completely intended). It even made seeing numerous amorous couples everywhere a little more bearable (although in Barcelona, this is not such an uncommon sight anyway!). Seeing queues of people outside bookshops was a wonderful sight- it gives me hope that there the traditional bookshop is not dying out everywhere.
I did not give a book, but I did receive two roses- one from one of my students, and the other from my boss. I'm already looking forward to next year's celebration- who knows, maybe I'll even get a book next time??..
Here is a little taster of what Rambla Cataluyna looked like on the afternoon of Sant Jordi. Enjoy!
When I first walked around Barcelona, I wondered why there were England flags etched into all of the Gothic walls. It was only during a Gothic Quarter walking tour that all was revealed...my home country and Catalonia actually share the same patron saint, St. George, or Sant Jordi- and so of course share the same flag. The legend seems very similar- there is still a dragon and a princess- just with a slight Catalan twist.
Throughout the year, my Catalan friends have been telling me that La Diada de Sant Jordi is their favourite festival. You see, Sant Jordi is like Valentine's Day for Catalans- a time to celebrate love, literacy, and the patron saint of Catalonia. Traditionally, women receive a rose and men receive a book; today, although this custom still stands, it seems to have evolved into more of a joint rose/book festival that everybody can enjoy.
So where did the very unique tradition of books come from? According to that good ol' reliable resource, Wikipedia, it all started in 1923, when a bookseller wanted to commemorate the simultaneous deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare on 23rd April, 1616. Before long, Barcelona's natural creative energy ensured that this became a regular part of La Dia de Sant Jordi, and today the two are inseperable.
All day, every street has dozens of stands selling hundreds of books; some of the bigger streets, such as La Rambla and Rambla Cataluyna, even had authors signing their books as well. Any festival that involves giving books is fantastic in my book (pun completely intended). It even made seeing numerous amorous couples everywhere a little more bearable (although in Barcelona, this is not such an uncommon sight anyway!). Seeing queues of people outside bookshops was a wonderful sight- it gives me hope that there the traditional bookshop is not dying out everywhere.
I did not give a book, but I did receive two roses- one from one of my students, and the other from my boss. I'm already looking forward to next year's celebration- who knows, maybe I'll even get a book next time??..
Here is a little taster of what Rambla Cataluyna looked like on the afternoon of Sant Jordi. Enjoy!
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| One of my roses! They are all decorated with a sprig of wheat...a nice kooky twist! |
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