La Diada de Sant Jordi in Barcelona

April 23rd is "La Diada de Sant Jordi," also known as St. George's Day.  Like many other nations, St. George is the patron saint of Catalonia.  His day is celebrated on April 23rd every year.  This has been Catalonia’s own form of Valentine’s day since the Middle Ages ,when legend has it that St. George slew the fearsome dragon, saved the lovely princess and gave her a red red rose plucked a rose from a rose bush, that had conveniently sprouted up from the dragons red blood.

  Pictures of Sant Jordi's day in Barcelona

Maybe it is not a true story, but  it’s a true fairytale and a wonderful one! What’s also wonderful is that for one day we can bend the modern rules of political correctness and equal rights and just enjoy the fairytale of knights in shining armour on white horses slaying dragons and saving beautiful princesses in a whirlwind of chivalry, honour, romance, heroism, swordplay -  and all for love. This is the Catalan version of the St George legend fairytale as told on the Barcelona St. Jordi website:

"Once upon a time, a terrible dragon terrorised the inhabitants of a small village in Catalonia called Montblanc. The dragon wrecked havoc among the population and devoured the animals put out to pasture until there were none left. To calm the dragon's anger, the inhabitants of the village decided to sacrifice one person every day, chosen by drawing lots, and to offer that person to the dragon as a sign of their good will. "However, one, dark day, the person chosen to be sacrificed was the king's daughter. Just when she was about to be swallowed up by the dragon, a courageous knight appeared and confronted the evil beast. This was Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan). He thrust his lance into the dragon and, out of the blood that spurted forth, there grew a red rose bush. Since then, it has been the custom in Catalonia to present a rose to your loved one. Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, as well as England and other countries, became the symbol of Catalonia during the Renaixença, a nineteenth century political and cultural movement that sought to reclaim the symbols of Catalan identity."

It is more likey that George was actually a 4th century Roman soldier. He was canonized after becoming a martyr for having Christian beliefs. He went on become patron saint of England, Greece, and Romania and Georgia among others.  Whatever the story, the tradition in modern day Barcelona and Catalonia is that 23rd April is dedicated to romance. For one day the men get to be knights again.  Nowadays they skip the dragon slaying part and just go to the rose giving part.

The roses (very expensive) are long stemmed red roses decorated with a sprig of wheat and a little red and yellow "senyera", the symbol of four red stripes on a golden background, which is the Catalonian flag along with the message “t'estimo," which means “I love you” in Catalan. Every female hopes for a rose on Sant Jordi’s day and it has become a custom to also give roses at work and to friends, even though the prices are several hundred percent above normal prices.

World Book Day comes from Catalonia..

In 1923  the tradition of rose giving was expanded to include the ladies giving the men a book on Sant Jordi's day, which is how World Book Day started. Visit UNESCO World Book Day and read how the inspiration for World Book Day came from Sant Jordi's day.

The 23rd April also is the anniversary of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes’ death. They both died on the same day, namely 23rd April in 1616, although in actual fact Cervantes' death was 10 days earlier because Spain was using the Gregarian calendar at the time, while England used the Julian calendar, and the two calendars are slightly different. Sant Jordi's day is not an official public holiday in Catalonia, but everyone gets to slack off a bit on this dreamy spring day, when around 6 million roses will exchange hands and around 20 millions euros worth of books will be sold.

On St Georges's day in Barcelona it is traditional to walk down the famous La Rambla pedestrian street in the Barri Gotic. But you don't need to go to La Rambla to find roses. Flower booths are everywhere in Barcelona, especially at Metro stations. Many of the flowers stalls on Las Ramblas support good causes, which is something to consider, when choosing where to buy a rose and when handing over the quite steep price which can be anywhere from  3 to a whopping12 euros per rose.

Sant Jordi is a nice day for good will and the Barcelona City Council launched a campaign in 2009 called "Sant Jordi viene a casa" - "Sant Jordi visits the home." The city delivered 5,100 free roses to the elderly and others in home care. A very nice gesture. The City Council also usually has a "El Gran Libro de Sant Jordi" which is a 300 page large format book handmade by artists, where citizens can leave a Sant Jordi inspired message. You can find this book in the "Saló de Cent del Ayuntamiento" which is a magnificent hall in the city town hall on Plaça de Sant Jaume. The Salo de Cent is not normally open to the public except on special days like Sant Jordi and it is definately worth a visit

Along many other major streets of Barcelona like the Passeig de Gracia, you will also find book stands and in the centre some will feature book readings and book signings by famous Spanish and Catalan authors and in 2010 a new Catalan music festival EscenaBCN premieres in Barcelona on 23rd April with concerts at Palau Sant Jordi and Sant Jordi club.

If you are looking for good deals on English books then the British Society of Catalunya are having a book sale with afternoon tea and a music hall sing-a-long at 17:00 in Centre Civic Casa Orlandai on Carrer de Jaume Piquet 23 which is opposite Sarria FGC metro station in the zona alta (upper area) of Barcelona.  English book shops in Barcelona will also have special deals and activities on Sant Jordi's day.

Feliç Diada de Sant Jordi!  Happy Sant Jordi day!

Visit Barcelona St Jordi site of Barcelona (usually online in April)

Find sculptures of St. Jordi in Barcelona here:

Facade of the Catalan Generalitat on Placa Jaume.
Facade of Casa Amatller. Passeig de Gràcia 41 - Eusebi Arnau’s sculpture of Sant Jordi
 Els Quatre Gats café, Barcelona on corner of facade
 Gaudi’s Casa Batlló on Passeig de Gracia 43.  Facade.  Some say that this building is based on the theme of Sant Jordi. The cross of  spears the scaly roof, which symbolizes the dragon. The bones of the dragon's victims frame the windows of the facade.

  Address of Casa Batllo
  Address of Casa Amatller
  Pictures of Casa Batllo.


Have a happy Sant Jordi's day!