Among Catalan traditions, Sant Jordi is probably one of the most beautiful ones. Specially if you spend Sant Jordi in Barcelona and have the chance to walk the streets. Unfortunately this year we are not going to be able to celebrate this festivity as we use to do. But libraries and diverse organizations are working on a virtual celebration with interesting initiatives to still hold this festivity at home and take the most of it.
The Sant Jordi tradition: roses and books
What makes Sant Jordi that special is the ability of melting this: love for our beloved ones, but also, love for books. So the tradition leads to men giving a rose to the woman they love (this also includes mums, daughters, sisters…) and women giving a book to the men they love (also including their dads, brothers, sons…).
But the tradition is lately making new rules, since girls and women also receive books from men, and vice versa with roses and men.
This is why you will find lots of stalls on the street with roses and books. But, where this Catalan tradition comes from?
The legend of Sant Jordi: a knight, a dragon and a princess
The story of Sant Jordi involves three main characters: a knight, a dragon and a princess. So there was this powerful dragon which had a whole little village terrified. He ate lambs and horses, but that wasn’t enough to keep himself satisfied.
Then the king of the town decided to start offering people from the village as a sacrifice to keep the beast from destroying his land. He organized a raffle to select who would be the one to be offered to the dragon. Since he also included the names of his family in the pot, the princess was the selected person. The king, sadly, accepted the destiny and offered his daughter to the dragon.
But, unexpectedly, a knight appeared all of a sudden to defeat the dragon. After a fight, the knight got to kill the dragon and save the queen. And here comes the significant detail that gives meaning to this Catalan tradition: from the dragon a rose bush was born and Sant Jordi picked one of them and gave it to the princess.
And the legend of Sant Jordi keeps being shared in schools, from parents to sons, etc. turning it to a story of love and books.
How Barcelona looks like this day of the year
As soon as you put a feet on the ground, you will feel this Catalan tradition everywhere: books and roses all around the city (buildings, shops, stalls on the street….). The streets are pretty crowded, specially from the afternoon until the evening. So we recommend you to walk the streets during the morning, if possible.
Among iconic buildings decorated specially for the occasion, we find Casa Batlló from the architect Antoni Gaudí. This is how this monument looks like during Sant Jordi in Barcelona:
Also many stalls of books dress up the city these days. If you would like to buy a book signed by its author, you will have the chance. Many writers are placed in the main squares, streets and libraries to sign books. You will probably see long lines of people waiting for their book to be signed by the most famous authors.
During this day there are also many live concerts and special shows to celebrate all day long. So let’s see how this virtual Sant Jordi will be. One thing is clear: it will be forever remembered.
Happy Diada de Sant Jordi in Barcelona!
