Saint George's Day in Catalonia

Sant Jordi's legend and the Rose Fair '', Bernat Martorell painting of Sant Jordi, the dragon, and the princess. Commissioned by the Catalan government Before 1931, April 23 was simply known as the Day of the Rose or Sant Jordi's Day in Catalonia. The story is based on real events from April 23, 303 AD, when Romans beheaded a Christian soldier named George, probably in Greece. In 1201, king Peter II founded the Order of Sant Jordi d'Alfama, with its headquarters in Catalonia's south. The celebrations associated with Sant Jordi began around 1427, with the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona hosting a Rose Fair. In 1456 the Catalan Courts (the parliament) named Sant Jordi as the patron saint of Catalonia, and the annual commemoration with roses was institutionalized. In the early 1700s, with the fall of the city of Barcelona and the ascension of the Bourbons to the Spanish throne, Sant Jordi's Day began to fall out of favor. It was not until the end of the 1800s, with the Renaixença, that Sant Jordi's day regained its previous popularity within Catalonia. From 1914 to 1923, the Commonwealth of Catalonia (the first recognized administration for the entirely of Catalonia since 1833) actively supported the revival of the celebration. In 1923, Vicente Clavel, a Valencian writer, editor, and the director of the Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona, first proposed Book Day. A decision was not made and the proposal languished; however, in 1925, he raised the idea with the Catalan Chamber of Books, of which he was vice president, and finally in February 1926 a decision was made to create and promote a day dedicated to books on October 7. The day after the second annual Book Day, on October 8, 1927, the Barcelona newspaper, La Vanguardia published, "Barcelona celebrated Book Day with real fervor yesterday. A festival of civility and intelligence, it has quickly taken root in the soul of the city. From last year—when it was held for the first time—to this year, the progress is extraordinary". 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. == Contemporary celebration ==

Since 1997 the official slogan of the day has been "A rose for a love, and a book forever". April 23 is one of the most important days in Catalan culture when people exchange books and roses. Preparations for the Day of Books and Roses begins well before April 23. Bookstores bring their materials outside, and various associations, unions, and schools line the streets at tables. Also, there are small tables of illustrators and authors selling and signing their books. The roses exchanged between couples are traditionally red, generally accompanied by an ear of wheat, and the two elements are joined with a ribbon with the colors of the Catalan flag. Until the end of the 20th century, roses were a gift from men to women, in recent times the gender of the person receiving the gift, both the book and the rose is becoming increasingly irrelevant. The day generates considerable economic activity for authors, publishers, and booksellers. For example, in Catalonia on April 23, 2016, more than 1,580,000 copies of 45,267 book titles were sold, and 54 percent of these were in the Catalan language. Outside of Catalonia, Catalan houses, associations, and the delegations of the Generalitat promote the festivity not only among Catalans abroad, but also open to anyone, often with roses and books stalls like those in Catalonia. In 2015, the Barcelona-based Diplocat Consortium (Catalan government) launched an effort to internationalize the Day of Books and Roses. The campaign uses the hashtag #BooksAndRoses to bring attention to events, activities, and celebrations outside of Catalonia. Issues In 2021, at the initiative of the United Nations, the Spanish government declared April 23 as Spanish Language Day, in order to promote this language in a special way. Various activists and media argue that the chosen date was done in order to diminish the specifically Catalan character of the Diada de Sant Jordi due to the protagonism that enjoys Catalan language, literature and culture throughout the festivity. With the aim of increasing awareness about the decline of Catalan as a language of social use, During the Diada de Sant Jordi of 2022, the plattform Mantinc el català (English: 'I maintain Catalan') launched a proposal for Catalan speakers to try to safeguard it as their initial, default language for a period of 21 days. == See also ==