I’m just back from a quick trip to Barcelona, where the whole city was gearing up for Catalonia’s most romantic day of the year – Sant Jordi’s. Sant Jordi (that dragon slayer you might know better as St George) is the national Saint of the region. As explained in this post, Sant Jordi’s day has been celebrated on the 23rd of April as far back as the 15th century. Like St Valentine’s day, the tradition was to gift flowers. But since 1926, April 23 has also been the Spanish National Book Day, and the two became slowly entwined. Today, in the Catalan region, St Jordi’s is a joint celebration of both romance and culture. The tradition is for women to receive roses and men to receive books, but the Catalonian women I know insist on books as well. I took a few photos of the city preparing for hundreds of thousands of people to gift books as a demonstration of love. I don’t celebrate St Valentine’s day, but this is a holiday tradition I could get behind!
The Author's Interest 