Today I experienced my new favorite holiday: Sant
Jordi.
Dia de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day) is one of Catalunya's biggest festivals dedicated to their Patron Saint George.
All around Spain,
Spaniards celebrate various 'days' dedicated to various saints. But I find this particular 'saint day' extra special because of its story...
Legend has it that near Barcelona, Sant Jordi slayed a
dragon to rescue a Princess. When the dragon fell to its death, a drop of its blood splattered on the ground. From that drop of blood, a rose bush magically sprouted. Sant Jordi then picked a rose, and gave it to his princess.
And so, to honor this story of great bravery and romance, it
is now customary for the men of Catalunya to give the princesses in their
life a rose. On this special day, you will find the streets completely filled with rose vendors since the early morning hours, and every man and boy on the street with a pretty flower in hand.
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| Feliç Sant Jordi! |
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| Sant Jordi slaying the dragon. |
And the legend continues...
After Sant Jordi slayed the dragon, he wiped the
blood off his hands on a yellow cloth. His fingers made five red smears
on the yellow background. And that, my friends, is how they got the flag of Catalunya.
The five stripes on the Catalan
flag, therefore, are the five bloody finger marks of Sant Jordi (after he slayed a dragon. How fierce is that?). And so this day also represents a day of fierce Catalan pride.
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| Catalan flag |
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Fierce Catalan pride also brings out the nationalist sentiment prevalent in the region.
"Catalonia is not Spain." |
There is also another piece to this holiday puzzle
that makes it even more fascinating. The Day of Saint George happened
to coincide with
Shakespeare and Cervantes' Death Day, otherwise known as
International Book Day. So, rather than forcing competition between the two
legit holidays, Catalonians did something better: They combined them.
Now you can find not only roses for sale, but tables and tables of books for sale, too, all around the city. The main shopping hub is of course in the center of the city down Las Ramblas, which is completely packed with people and piles of books.
And so, in keeping with the romance theme, it is now customary on this holiday for couples and friends to exchange roses and books.
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| Las Ramblas |
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| Scoping out the merchandise |
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Las Ramblas
Have you ever seen this many people in the streets to buy books? |
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| Used books |
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| Rare books |
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| Random books |
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| Music books |
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| Lots of books |
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| Dragon on Las Ramblas |
In keeping with International Book Day, famous authors also make appearances to sign copies of their works. As you can see from the photos, Spaniards consider this to be serious business.
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People trying to steal a glimpse of the authors...
Is Shakira in there or something? |
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| People lined up down the street to get their books signed |
Yet another perk about this fabulous holiday is that the
government opens the doors to the Town Hall and Regional Government of
Catalunya buildings. These two buildings are only free and open to the public a
couple times a year, and Sant Jordi is one of them.
So on this day, as a celebration of Catalan pride, they
allow everyone a free visit to the two most important government buildings in the
city. Being the curious tourist that I am, I decided to go. And boy, am I glad
that I did because A)This is a rare opportunity. In fact, many of my Catalan students have never seen inside either of these buildings. B)They turned out to be quite beautiful.
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| The Town Hall |
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| Inside the Town Hall |
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| Mural on the ceiling |
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| Art in the Town Hall |
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| Memory, Hope, Catalunya |
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| Another cool mural in the Town Hall |
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| Miro in the Town Hall |
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| Council chambers in the Town Hall |
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| Council chambers in the Town Hall |
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| Sant Jordi, the dragon, and the rose bush in the Town Hall |
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| Inside the Town Hall |
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Generalitat de Catalunya
Catalunya's regional government building |
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| Inside the Generalitat |
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| Press Room in the Generalitat |
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| Art works in the Generalitat |
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| Conference room in the Generalitat |
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| Courtyard in the Generalitat |
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| Another Jordi in the Generalitat |
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| Inside the Generalitat |
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| Roses for sale outside the Generalitat |
That all sounds fine, I know, and it certainly makes for a nice
afternoon. By why is it my new favorite holiday? Because it's finally a
day that celebrates love without a connection to materialism. Some people call Sant Jordi Spain's version of
Valentine's Day, but I completely disagree. For many people, Valentine's
Day is a commercial holiday where people are pressured into spending
money, where showing your love for someone is more of a competition of
who can get the biggest flower bouquet or the most expensive piece of
jewelry. Furthermore, many see Valentine's Day as an obligation, and many people have to be practically dragged to dinner or pressured into doing something "nice" for their significant other. And to top it all off, the hyper-masculine culture of the United States many times sees showing affection for someone as a weakness or inappropriate.
So yes, buying a gift such as jewelry for someone on Valentine's Day as many people do can be a nice gesture. But what does that really
mean? And what good is it if they were socially pressured into it?
Sant Jordi is far superior as a romantic holiday because of the
sentiment behind it. When I see a boy on the metro with a rose in his hand, I imagine him to be a valiant knight, fresh back from slaying a fire-breathing dragon, and hurrying home to give his special someone a rose as a sign of strength of his love. I mean, what Valentine’s Day card says, “I love you so much
that I
went and killed a dangerous monster for you. As a token of that act,
here’s
this pretty flower.”
What's more, giving a rose to someone in your life is not seen as a social obligation or even an optional gesture. The men do not
whine about it. In fact, they wait in line for it, and then carefully choose a worthy flower.
It isn't seen as a
slight to a man's masculinity to be seen walking down the street with a
rose in his hand. On the contrary, a man with a rose is merely a knight
walking back from protecting his beloved princess. And so giving a rose
to your mother, sister, girlfriend, or friend is a noble act of high chivalry (or so that's the lovely image the legend puts into my head).
And exchanging books? At least for me, a book is a far better present than any of the typical Valentine's Day gifts. Not only is it more useful, but it is more thoughtful than any piece of candy or jewelry. Anyone can pick out a necklace (or at the very least you can have the sales clerk help you pick one out). But to carefully choose a book that you think someone else will enjoy reading? That takes a level of intimacy that only a close relationship could have. And as an added bonus, books stimulate the mind and strengthen the intellect, (let's see earrings do
that), which can only be a good thing.
And the best part of all this? It's cheap. Roses cost around 3 euros
each. A book less than 20 euros, and far less if you buy it used. When
what is expected is the thought, the sentiment, rather than the dollar amount
on the receipt, the expression of love and appreciation is always superior.
Anyway, I really did enjoy learning about and experiencing this holiday, and I don't want to give that up. So, from now on, I will not celebrate Valentine's Day, and instead will exchange books for dead dragons on April 23rd.
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| Souvenirs from the day: A bookmark and Sant Jordi bread |
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