Sant Jordi, the Day of books and roses in Catalonia 2025
Crowded streets, flower and book stalls, couples celebrating love, the search for the best-seller of the year, book signings... You surely know what we are talking about! It is one of the most beloved and preferred traditions of the Catalans: Sant Jordi. And what a beautiful tradition we have in Catalonia! Although traditionally it is said that men give a rose to their sweetheart and she a book to her sweetheart, the truth is that today it is about celebrating free love and the day of literature. But why do we give roses and books on April 23?
Well, as the Catalan legend says, in the town of Montblanc there lived a dragon that terrorized the town, devouring cattle and men. In order to contain it, it was popularly decided that a townsman would be sacrificed by lot to be offered to the dragon in exchange for peace for the town. One fine day, or a bad day depending on how you look at it, it was the princess's turn, who would have died at the hands of the dragon if the knight Saint George had not arrived in time to kill the beast. From the blood that flowed from the dead body wounded by the sword, a rose was born, which the knight gave to the princess. But beyond this fable, the fact is that the 23rd was the day that the knight Jordi died, turned into a martyr for refusing to kill and persecute Christians and punished by decapitation.
On the other hand, the origin of the holiday associated with literature is linked to a fair that the Guild of Editors and Booksellers of Barcelona organized to promote reading during the Barcelona International Exposition of 1929, which was a huge success. The initiative decided to move it to April 23, a date that coincides with the death of two great authors of universal literature: Shakespeare and Cervantes.
Do you want to know a curious fact? UNESCO declared April 23 as World Book and Copyright Day thanks to the importance of the Catalan Sant Jordi day.
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