Sant Jordi's Day: when reading is romantic!
By Regina Winkle-Bryan
Nancy and I love Sant Jordi’s Day, the Catalan equivalent to Valentine’s Day. Celebrated every April 23rd, today is a day for lovers, books and red roses.
Love is in the air!
The tradition is that today, men buy one single red rose for the important women in their lives, and women buy books for the men in their lives. You may be asking yourself (especially if you are a woman) ‘What’s up with that!?’ Yes, it does seem a bit unfair, a rose for a book. Don’t women like to read? Nowadays this tradition has changed some and women are raking in both the roses and the books.
Depending on how many admirers she has, a woman may end up with a nice bouquet of red roses come by evening time on Sant Jordi’s (I had one good rose year where I got about 6 roses, and then another year when no one gave me a rose, which was a bit depressing…).
Sant Jordi's Day
And the books! All the bookshops around the city set up stands on the sidewalks, and sell books to passersby in the open air. Authors are also set up selling and autographing their books in the city center, and some authors give talks and readings at cafes and bookshops .
Sant Jordi's Day
It’s best to head to Pl Catalunya early, as the place gets packed around 6pm. Las Ramblas and many other streets are cut off to cars and buses on this holiday, making strolling hand-in-hand easier. Enjoy!
3 Comments
How appropriate that the most romantic day of the Spainish year is also GrandMarg’s birthday! Perfect!! She is smiling down on you…Enjoy!!
I think that women should get books too. No roses necessary. At least for me!
Yes, I would have liked a book. Then again, I have a stack of books that I’m trying to get through. Got a red rose though!