In 1995 the UNESCO declared April 23rd as the "International Day of the book and author rights". The date was chosen because Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare died on that same day, of different years.......
But in Catalonia (in the northeast of Spain) this day is the Diada de Sant Jordi, based in the legend of Saint George who fight a horrible dragon which had a princess as prisoner. And it is a popular feast since 1456!
Also Saint Jordi is the Catalonian patron of lovers, so on every April 23rd you can see many streets in Catalonia full with book stands and roses, but specially in Las Ramblas, the famous street in Barcelona. And so the tradition tells the boys to give a rose to his "princess" and the girls to give a book to her boyfriend in return. And though originally this exchange was meant to be done between lovers, nowadays mothers, sisters and friends receive flowers and fathers, brothers and friends receive books. And everybody is happy because everyone has a present on that day!
I like books and roses. Tomorrow is my day then :) Hope you have a great Friday and even better weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe loved Barcelona on our trip last year!
Pues, aunque yo no soy extranjera, me ha gustado encontrar tu bonito y didáctico rincón, Nieves.
ReplyDeleteMúsica genial, por cierto!
Un saludiño!
Thanks Ivanhoe. I wish you a lovely weekend too! And I hope you have received a book and a rose there in Cleveland!
ReplyDeleteSusi, aunque no seas extranjera serás muy bienvenida siempre que quieras darte una vueltecita por aqui. Y me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado mi rincón. ¡Muchos saluditos y que tengas un estupendo fin de semana!
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