It is one of the most celebrated events in Catalonia and also has repercussions outside this Community. We are talking about San Jordi, an outstanding event in which men and women give books to their loved ones and are usually accompanied by a red rose. A romantic detail that the Catalans look forward to every year. But,When is San Jordi 2022 and why is a red rose given away?? We are going to tell you about it in this post, so that you can learn more about this beautiful tradition and you can mark on the calendar when it will take place this year.
When is San Jordi 2022 celebrated?
The Saint George 2022 will take place on the day April 23rd, which this year falls on a Friday. However, it remains to be seen if the celebrations and events typical of this holiday can take place, or if they will be canceled as happened last year due to Covid19. Everything will depend on how the pandemic evolves and whether the health situation has improved by then, thus allowing the holding of public events in which there are attendees.
Although it would not be strange that this time, in prevention, many events are organized online, to ensure that neither the Covid, nor any other eventuality, prevents the celebration of such an important party, even if it is virtually.
Why is San Jordi celebrated?
San Jordi is a very special festivity, which combines romanticism with a passion for the world of letters and reading. But why is San Jordi celebrated? Where are you from? What does a saint have to do with reading and letters? The truth is that they are only coincidences that have made that date be taken into account to celebrate the day of love and, in addition, the Day of the book.
April 23 is the saint’s day of San Jordi, the patron saint of Catalonia. There is a beautiful legend that recounts the origin of this Saint, his festivity and why it is customary to give red roses. According to this legend, in the Catalan town of Montblanc there was a dragon that had the population frightened. Its inhabitants tried to keep the dragon happy and calm to avoid his attacks and lessen his bad temper. To please him, they gave him a maiden as an offering every day.
Soon, there were fewer and fewer maidens left and they found themselves in the position of having to hand over the princess herself. This may surprise us because we know that princesses and queens, like other members of royalty, usually enjoy immunity and protection against everything, especially in stories and legends. However, the terror they felt towards the dragon was such that they even agreed to sacrifice their princess.
When it was the turn of the princess and the dragon was about to devour her, a brave knight appeared who began to fight the dragon, in order to save the life of the princess. This brave knight was none other than Sant Jordi. The saint and the beast engaged in a cruel fight and finally Sant Jordi managed to defeat him. He plunged a sword into his heart and killed him, thus freeing the princess.
Before the wound, the dragon’s heart gushed blood. But instead of being the blood that common mortals expel, in the case of the Sant Jordi dragon, the blood became a red rose. This is how this outstanding element of the Sant Jordi festivalthe red rose, which men and women give each other, along with a book, every April 23.
They also say that the princess, in gratitude, wrote the knight a love letter. For this reason, Sant Jordi is seen as the Valentine’s Day in Catalonia.
Why a red rose is given on San Jordi
As we have just read in a Sant Jordi legend, the red rose is a symbolic element that has a beautiful and fanciful origin. Every year on April 23, just coinciding with Sant Jordi, it is a popular custom that the streets of Catalonia are filled with book and flower shops. The reason for giving flowers, specifically red roses for Sant Jordi, is in reference to that legend of Sant Jordi where a flower was born from the blood of the dragon’s heart, when the enamored knight fought against the beast to free his lover .
The Sant Jordi red rose It can be accompanied by a romantic note. Although what is accompanied in most cases, especially if the person likes to read, is a book. Times have changed and the role of men and women has been assimilated and equalized in today’s society, so both sexes can exchange books and roses, although, in the past, it was usual for women to be given the flower and to the man the book.
And why are books given away on Sant Jordi? We are talking about dragons, roses and love stories, but where does the tradition of books come from?
Since 1996, on April 23, also the day of Sant Jordiit was declared International Book Day by UNESCO. The reason for choosing this date and not another, to pay tribute to letters, books and writers, is that two of the most important writers of all time, such as Cervantes and Shakespeare, died on April 23.
On April 23, for Sant Jordi, books are given away. But books are also a perfect gift for other special dates, such as Father’s Day.