23 April is the feast day of Sant Jordi, known to
English-speakers as Saint George. Sant Jordi, the one who slew the dragon
and saved the princess, is the patron saint of Catalunya. When Saint
George slew the dragon and saved the princess, a red rose grew from where the
dragon’s blood spilled. Thus, since 1456, the day has been celebrated
(only in Catalunya; not in the rest of Spain) by men giving red roses to the
women they love – wives, mothers, daughters, and friends. It is the Catalan St. Valentine’s Day.
In 1923 a Barcelona bookseller began a campaign to
also celebrate 23 April as the Day of the Book because the deaths of William
Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes happen to coincide on 23 April 1616 and, I
guess, he thought it would help his book business. His efforts were
successful and since then, books have been added to the holiday, and it has
become the Day of the Book and the Rose. It is one of the loveliest
holidays here in Catalunya, where book and flower stalls draped in Catalan
flags are set out on the main promenade of every city, town, and village.
In 1995, 23 April was adopted by UNESCO as World
Book Day upon petition from Catalunya. It’s starting to catch on, but not
many people around the world know about it yet. For any book lover out
there, if you didn’t see anything about World Book Day this week, this might be
a good time to start making suggestions to your local bookseller to celebrate
the holiday next year.
There are always more book stalls than there are
bookshops in town. That’s because stalls
are also run by community groups, charities, political parties, and
municipalities. I stopped at the table
run by the local group of sardana
dancers to ask about upcoming events.
They were disdainful. Their group
only dances in competitions. Evidently
they are a closed group as they asked me no questions about my interest in
dancing, my level of competence, or anything else. That is one community group that I won’t be
supporting.
(If you’re a regular blog reader and think you’ve
got déjà vu, let me reassure you. I’ve
taken some of the above from my post on Sant Jordi of two years ago.)
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| Kids with Catalan Independence flags |
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Shakespeare is thought to have been born on April 23, although there are no records of his birth. He was baptized in the local church in Stratford-Upon-Avon on April 26, and the tradition was to baptize a baby on the third day after birth, so it is assumed that he was born on the 23rd. St. George the dragon-slayer is the patron saint of England, so it is only fitting that Shakespeare's birthday be celebrated on the saint day of another beloved Englishman.
ReplyDeleteBummer to die on your birthday, though!
Those dancers sound like real snobs. You have to wonder why they bothered setting up a table if they didn't want to communicate with people.
Thanks, Jan. Wondered that too.
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