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A man sells roses on Sant Jordi in Barcelona.
Well, I’m finally back from my school trip to Barcelona and I’m still alive after spending four days with sixty students. Honestly, the students were for the most part well-behaved and we, the teachers, really didn’t have to discipline anyone very much at all — so, it was a good trip.
I wanted to write a little something in this post about an interesting holiday that I just happened to be in Barcelona to see. It’s the day of Saint George (“Sant Jordi” in Catalán) and it’s celebrated on April 23. You see, Barcelona is quite well-known for its Saint George celebration because there it is customary for men to give women a rose on this day. Thus, as you can see in the above picture, “Las Ramblas” in Barcelona gets FULL of people buying roses at outdoor stands that are setup just for the occasion.
It just so happens that Saint George’s Day also coincides with International Book Day because both Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, two of the most talented writers of all time, died on April 23 (of different years, of course). That’s why the Saint George celebrations of Barcelona are somewhat twofold: the men buy women roses and, in return, the women buy men books. As a result, there are also temporary “book stands” like the one pictured below along the streets of Barcelona.
Books are also given as gifts on April 23.
It was pretty cool seeing firsthand how Saint George is celebrated in Barcelona and honestly, I was really surprised by the number of people walking along the street buying roses and books. In fact, there were so many people wandering down the street in the area of the city where the roses and books were being sold that I had a bit of a hard time even getting the above two pictures because every time I went to push the shutter button someone from the crowd stepped into my shot. In any event, after a while I managed to get the pictures I wanted and I also had the chance to live a celebration that is somewhat unique to the city of Barcelona — it was a good day.
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
PS: If you’re planning on taking a trip to Barcelona to see Sant Jordi firsthand and looking for a good place to stay at a great price, you may wish to take a look at Hotel Travel’s fantastic Barcelona Hotels section.
Hi! Actually the tradition is the woman gives a book to the mam (her boyfriend, her husband, her fiance, her son or just a friend she wants) and the man gives a rose to the woman( normally his mother, his wife, his daughter and some times his co workers). But not only men are the ones who get books. In that day since book are a bit cheaper ( I think they are 10% cheaper) people (men and women) buy lots of books.
Also roses are given in many bakeries to their cutomers and in many companies and little business roses are also given to their female workers as a gift since it is a nice tradition.
Thanks for the information! I love Barcelona and am looking forward to going back! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip and were able to see first hand the celebration of Saint George. I did not know this day was celebrated in this way; women buying books and men buying roses. Thanks for sharing!