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 oming
out of the libraries, literature is present in the streets of
Catalonia on the 23rd April, Sant Jordi’s Day – the Catalan
version of St George. Bookshops and publishers support book
signing sessions by authors of new books in honour of the occasion.
Appearing in Barcelona in 1926, the festival of Sant Jordi arrived
in North Catalonia in the 1990s.
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The
legend of the knight Saint George is the basis of the event.
Saint George was a Roman soldier born in what is now Turkey.
After attacking and slaughtering a dragon which was going to
eat a princess he became an example of the triumph of knowledge
over ignorance, a model of bravery in the service of love. The
brilliant knight Saint George gives his name to this festival:
a festival of books, of the rose – red as a symbol of passion
– and of lovers. Normally the man offers a rose to the woman
and she offers him a book. This springtime practice can be altered,
however, with each person giving the other a book and a rose.
Saint George’s Day, while maintaining its roots in Catalan culture
has been given worldwide status since 1995 when UNESCO proclaimed
April 23 the International Day of Books and of the Rights of
Authors. This day celebrates the lives of famous writers, such
as, the Briton, William Shakespeare, the Catalan, Josep Pla
and the Spaniard, Miguel de Cervantes. For the most part devoid
of religious value in the public arena, Saint George inspired
this multi-lingual festival in North Catalonia. In Perpignan,
Ceret, Prades or Collioure books are presented written in French
and other languages of the world, to the great happiness of
readers.
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