Apr-2015
Sant Jordi
You wouldn’t miss Barcelona on 23rd April!! You might think it is a bank holiday day because of the crowded city center. Thousands of people are strolling around the book and flower stalls along the streets, and nobody would think it is a working day.
The legend is that Jordi (the Catalan name for George), a Roman soldier born in Capadocia (Turkey), refused to fight against the Christians during the religion war in the 3rd century and was sent to the guillotine. When Jordi’s tragic death happened people started to worship him as a martyr and created the legend of St George,now one of the most popular legends of Catalonia. The legend explains that once upon a time, during the life time of Saint George, there was a dragon threatening the inhabitants of Montblanc (Conca de Barberá, Catalunya). On one lucky day, Saint George came, killed the dragon and rescued the town’s princess from the animal. According to the legend, from the blood of the dead dragon appear then a red rose.
After the legend became one of the most popular stories in Catalonia, the figure of Saint George was officially declared as the patron saint of Catalonia and people started to celebrate the 23rd of April as his day. Coinciding with the celebration of the Rose Fair in the Palau de la Generalitat of Barcelona since the 15th century, it has become a popular custom to give a red rose to your close friends and family.
Later on, book sellers started to open their stalls on the streets of Barcelona on that day which is also the National Book Day, as William Shakespeare the English poet, playwright, and actor, dead on the 23rd of April 1616 and Cervantes the spanish writer, soldier and poet on the 22nd the same year, converting the streets of Barcelona to a vast open air rose- and book fair.
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