What can be better than a romantic day of celebrating your soulmate in Barcelona? And no, we´re not talking about Valentine´s Day. The Spanish call it “El Día de Saint George”, or the “Día de los Amantes,” which means in English “Day of Lovers.” The celebration takes place each year on the 23rd of April. This year Sant Jordi’s Day will fall on Saturday, the 23rd of April.
History of Sant Jordi’s Day
In reality, this day is the celebration of the death of the Patron Saint of Catalonia “Saint George” on the 23rd of April 303. The legend of the saint´s death is one that combines gallantry, honor, romance and love. As the story goes, there once lived a frightful dragon that terrorized the inhabitants of a small Catalan city named Montblanc. The dreadful creature was poising the air and eating all of the animals of the city until the locals had nothing left to survive on. In order to tame the dragon, the inhabitants decided to sacrifice one inhabitant per day, each day selecting by a lottery system one individual who would have to give his life to the dragon for the good of the city. But one day the name of the king´s daughter was selected and the dragon was very close to eating her until a heroic knight named George came to her rescue and brought down the dragon. It is said that in the place where the dragon was slain the blood of the create watered and raised a rose bush. George took one red rose from the bush and gave it to the princess. He later became the Patron Saint of Catalonia.
In memory of this legend, on the day of Sant Jordi Catalonian men give their soul-mates the gift of a red rose, and normally the rose comes with a little message (something like “t’estimo” which means in Catalan : “I love you”). In 1926 Spain declared the 23rd of April the death of Miguel de Cervantes, the most famous Spanish writer, as “Book Day.” It was a coincidence that this day fell on Sant Jordi Day. Eventually the two celebrations combined. Nowadays, the girls offers to their soul-mates a book in return for the roses.
What to do in Barcelona on Sant Jordi’s Day?
The opening ceremony of Sant Jordi’s Day will take place at Barcelona City Hall at the Placa de Sant Jaume. For this one day only the two halls will be open to public from 10a.m to 8p.m and you will be lucky enough to have the chance to visit the magnificent “Saló de Cent” (the Room of One Hundred), the honored staircase, the gothic gallery, the “el Saló de la Reina Regent” and “el Saló de Cròniques” as well as other areas of the City Hall that are usually not open to the public. Entrance will be free from Carrer de Ciutat. To find accommodation near the City Hall, check our Apartments in the Gothic quarter.
Moreover, many markets, museums and institutions will be having special Sant Jordi activities for families and children. Casa Batlló, for example, will have a special facade decoration. Plaza Catalunya will be full of authors who will be signing copies of their books.
All around the city, but more especially on Las Ramblas, Passeig de Gracia and La Rambla de Catalunya, you will find a massive line of stalls selling books and roses. It is estimated that on Sant Jordi’s day, around 20€ million euros are spent on the purchase of books each year.) To find accommodation near the shopping avenues, have a look at our apartments in Eixample.
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Event photo credit: bonesvacances.com