Sant Jordi - San Jorge - Saint George

[irmamar]

Today, April 23, is the World Book Day. The date was chosen by the UNESCO because it’s said that both Shakespeare and Cervantes died that day of 1616, although the fact is that none of them died that day (though Garcilaso de la Vega did). Cervantes died on april 22 and Shakespeare did on May 3 (in England the Julian calendar was used then, not the Gregorian one).


But I’d like to tell you about a lovely holiday which is celebrated here, in Catalonia, where I live. Men buy a rose (usually it’s a red rose) for their couple and women buy a book for them, it is said that today is the “lover’s day” in Catalonia. Everybody is waiting for his/her present today. The bookshops sell their books (with a little discount) in the street and people walk with their roses and their books. Lovely, indeed!