Dia de St. Jordi

La Diada de Sant Jordi, also called St. George’s day, is celebrated in Barcelona, as well as a few cities around the world, every year on April 23. This day corresponds with St. George’s death. St. George is honored in Barcelona on this day since he is the patron saint of Catalunya. Barcelona’s celebration of La Diada de Sant Jordi is quite romantic however. Prior to seeing it with my own eyes, I had heard many stories about the day from my home stay mother. She had shared with me the tradition of men buying their wives, girlfriends, or love interests roses and in return women would by their husband, boyfriend, or whatever a book. I thought this was an odd spin on the traditional U.S. Valentine’s Day that I was used to. However, La Diada de Sant Jordi caught me by surprise. Unlike valentines’ day in the U.S., where every shop, restaurant and florist has advertisements and decorations for valentines at least a month in advance, La Diada de Sant Jordi quietly approached in Barcelona. In fact, it was quite amazing to see the sheer amount of book stands and flower stands pop up all over Placa Catulunya and Rambla de Catalunya on this Saturday. It was the first real sign of spring to see thousands and thousands of red roses pop up, figuratively, all across Barcelona. But unlike Valentines Day in the U.S., which has become a commercialized holiday and done mainly to generate profit, there was still an air of innocence and tradition with La Diada de Sant Jordi. The most interesting thing I saw on this day, however, was that the selling of books and roses were not just left to merchants and vendors, but even the Partido Popular had set up a stand on Rambla de Catalunya, a seemingly strategic campaign effort close to elections.