Saint George’s Day
1st cycle of ESO
SAINT GEORGE’S DAY
When is Saint George’s Day?
Saint George’s day is on 23rd of April. Saint George is the Patron Saint of England and Catalonia too, so it’s the National day of these two countries.
Saint George was a soldier who protested against the Roman torture of Christians and was killed for his beliefs. He is famous for the story of his fight against the dragon.
How do England and Catalonia celebrate Saint George’s Day?
By tradition, April 23rd is the day when people put a red rose in their button holes. It’s an important day, however not many English people know that Saint George’s day falls on this date. Only one out of five people know that, so for them this day is just another ordinary day.
In Catalonia however, it’s a big day, in spite of being a working day. It’s the day of books and roses. If you go for a walk down the streets, you will see lots of stands where books and roses are sold. The tradition is that men give a rose to the woman they love and women buy a book for them as an exchange. However, nowadays all the people buy roses and books. For example, a daughter can buy a rose for her mother, sister, brothers, etc…just as a sign of love. Every body buys books too. If you go to big cities during this day, you can see important writers sitting down in the different stands signing and dedicating their books to their readers.
Interesting facts:
– It’s an interesting coincidence that William Shakespeare, the author of many plays such ad Romeo and Juliet, was not only born on 23rd April (1564), but also died on 23rd April (1616).
– Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quijote, also died on 23rd April 1616.