yesterday was St George's Day

This is the rose I got yesterday evening from Mr Mar.

Since the 15th century there has been the tradition of giving roses on April 23rd in Catalonia. At the same time, Saint George/ Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalonia, officially since 1456. More about the rose and the legend here.

In 1926 Spain established April 23rd as the 'Dia del Llibre' (Book Day) to commemorate the death of Cervantes, imitating England, where the same day was also celebrated because it coincided with the date of the death of Shakespeare. In 1996 UNESCO suggested the celebration of an international day, since then April 23d has been known as World Book and Copyright Day.

This means that with the medieval traditions plus the Book Day celebration, Saint George's Day has become a very popular festive day when book and rose stalls, and, above all, floods of people (see picture below!) take over the streets of all Catalan towns and villages. The celebration could not be simpler: the ritual consists of going for a walk and buying a rose, a book or both to give to loved ones, family members and friends. Traditionally it has been a rose for the ladies, a book for the gents. Although it is not a public holiday, the day and the essential walk fill the streets and squares, making it a unique national festival celebrated on a working day. Known writers also participate by signing their books.

I wasn't downtown but online newspapers published the following picture ... you get the idea of how busy Barcelona was! (copyright: EFE/Xavier Bertral)

I am not sure but the red balloons could be from Manchester United fans, as in addition to the local celebrations, there was an important Champions League football game yesterday, which I partially watched (TV was on and I passed by!) but it was an uneventful Manchester 0:Barcelona 0.