St. Jordi's Day

To you English types it's Saint George's Day, a day to make merry, dress up,  and wave white flags with red pluses on them. To you American types today is Thursday. In Catalunia St. Jordi's Day is something equivalent to the American Valentines Day. The tradition is for men to buy their women single roses and for women to buy their men books. And people run around all day buying up fistfuls of roses and scads of books for their loved ones. Others run around all day terrified they won't be on the receiving end of at least a pamphlet or something. 

Don't worry if you haven't pre-purchased a book. Little stalls selling books (and of course roses) crop up everywhere. Here in Sitges they're lined up on the Passeig de la Ribera. Depending on the level of amorousness you feel for your significant other you can do anything from a brand new full-color coffee table book to a used paperback.

The modern tradition has become a little more fluid. Women give men roses. Men give women books (shudder to think). And in Sitges Men give men roses. Women give women books, It's all very mixed. Two years ago I received a rose and was asked if that meant I was a bottom. Last year the partner gave me a used copy of Stephen Fry's The Liar. He then started reading it and never finished. 

Digging a little deeper into the tradition reveals that the whole rose thing goes well back into the middle ages, when the feast day was celebrated with contests by the aristocrat men to win the hearts of their chosen maidens. The book tradition is a little newer. It began sometime around 1923 with a bookseller who probably wanted to offload some stock. The day, April 23, however coincides with the traditionally established death days of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare, so it makes sense. 

Also there's the legend of Saint Jordi. It's the same as Saint George and the dragon, but this version takes place near Tarragona. There was a dragon hanging out near a village. The people offered daily human sacrifices to keep the dragon satiated. When it came time for the beautiful and beloved princess to take her turn, Saint Jordi showed up to intervene. Saint Jordi subdued the dragon with his spear. The princess was saved and the village freed. Hooray! 

From this we get books and roses? Well, I guess the modern iterations of feast days don't have to make sense. At least the greeting card industry hasn't taken over this holiday yet. 

Bon Diada de Sant Jordi.