While in Catalunya, I noticed that Valentine’s Day wasn’t widely celebrated. This surprised me because I thought since it was based off of Sant Valentin, Spain would celebrate a saints day. However, I soon learned that the holiday is largely celebrated in America with gifts and companies using that time to promote sales. In Catalunya, their “day of love” equivalent is Dia de Sant Jordi, based on the Patron Saint of Catalunya.
This holiday originated from the legendary story of Sant Jordi defeating the dragon and saving the princess, gifting her with roses. Dia de Sant Jordi is celebrated by Catalan people by ‘a book and a rose’. It is tradition for men to give women a rose, and in return women give men a book. The week leading up to Sant Jordi Festival there are vendors all on the streets with books and flowers. There is also a festival on Dia de Sant Jordi, however this is not considered a public holiday so businesses and schools remain open.
It is disappointing that Catalonias will not be able to celebrate the Sant Jordi Festival this year with everyone because of Coronavirus, but I do hope that people are safe and quarantined with their loved ones to celebrate the day at home.
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