Catalonia ‘Sant Jordi Day’ Books Roses and Love

Planning an overseas holiday? This looks perfect for book lovers!

A yearly event: The Day of Books and Roses will be celebrated in Catalonia, Spain on Wednesday 23rd April 2025. This day is traditionally known as Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George’s Day) in Catalan. On this special day, love and literature are celebrated throughout Catalonia, and books and roses are exchanged. In Catalonia on 23rd April 2016 more than 1,580,000 copies of 45,267 book titles were sold, and a percentage of those were in the Catalan language.

Always learning: This is a part of the world I have never visited and I had no knowledge of this beautiful celebration. Catalan’s Sant Jordi Day really is commemorated with books, roses and love. Since 1997 the official slogan of the day has been ‘A rose for a love, and a book forever’. Perfect!

Love is in the air: The rest of the world awaits Valentine’s Day to celebrate love, Catalan’s most romantic day of the year is Sant Jordi, which also coincides with World Book Day on 23rd April. A day dedicated to ‘literature and love’, and of course books and roses are the main attraction.

*‘Rose and Book’ Public Domain image by George Hodan*

Tourism: Visitors and locals can stroll through stalls full of books and red roses. You can visit any Catalan city and soak up the festival’s atmosphere in and around the city’s central streets. Librarians take their books outside and set up stalls with the latest must-reads and some old classics. Flower vendors display thousands of red roses. Both make a brisk trade. Also, there are small tables of illustrators and authors selling and signing their books. I wonder if the patisseries (la pastelería) bake cakes and pastries shaped and decorated like books?

Culture: Although being part of Spain, Catalonia’s culture is quite different. They have their traditions (such as Sant Jordi Day) public holidays, and the language is Catalan. Sant Jordi is celebrated throughout Catalonia, so no doubt where you are, you’ll find a red rose and an excellent book. Some of the older buildings are decorated with red roses, the photos look amazing!

The legend of Sant Jordi: Catalans celebrate Sant Jordi’s Day to commemorate the death of Saint George in the year 303 AD. He became the symbol of Catalonia during the 19th century when the cultural and political movement known as the Renaissance reclaimed the signs of Catalan identity.

Modern-day Geography: Catalonia comprises most of the medieval and early modern Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder northern area now part of France’s Pyrénées-Orientales). It is bordered by France (Occitanie) and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south.

World Book Day: The book tradition on this day doesn’t come from Saint George himself. It comes from the International World Book Day which started in Spain in 1923. The date coincides with the death of two world-famous writers, Spanish Miguel de Cervantes and English William Shakespeare in 1616. In 1995, UNESCO declared 23rd of April as the UNESCO World Book & Copyright Day. In 2017, a group of Catalan publishers, booksellers, florists, and other professionals presented an application to UNESCO to have the ‘Day of Books and Roses’ recognized as Intangible Heritage. Extremely special things to celebrate!

❤💐📚 Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2024

My thanks to the following websites for their information:
Information https://unexpectedcatalonia.com/sant-jordi/
About https://unexpectedcatalonia.com/about/
Catalonia trip planning: https://unexpectedcatalonia.com/catalonia-essential-guide/
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_Books_and_Roses

Time Is… by Henry Van Dyke

Poem from Henry Van Dyke ‘Music and Other Poems’ 1904.

Time Is… © image Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2023

Henry Van Dyke (born 10 November 1852, Germantown, Pennsylvania, USA, and died 10 April 1933, Princeton, New Jersey USA) He was a Presbyterian minister, short-story writer, poet and essayist popular in the early decades of the 20th century. Van Dyke married Ellen Reid in 1891 and they had nine children.

A leading writer of his age, Henry van Dyke wrote profusely in the fields of religion, literature, diplomacy, education, nature and public service. He was an admirer of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and met him while overseas.

Van Dyke’s great love of the outdoors was a crucial part of his Christianity, and in the early twentieth century he became a conservationist speaking out for the preservation of Yellowstone. His belief in nature and religion drove his literary criticism and other writings throughout his life.

❤ Gretchen Bernet-Ward