La Diada de Sant Jordi

Did you forget Valentine’s Day? Did it turn out a new iron wasn’t such a good gift after all? Well have no fear because that initial yearly sentence in the dog house for such a blatant lack of chivalry or romance can be dramatically shortened thanks to one Saint George.

On the 23rd April the Catalan population will be exchanging roses and books in a historical, yet highly commercial, display of affection. Sant Jordi (as he is known in Catalan) is the patron saint of the six million inhabitants of Catalonia and he was said to be a very romantic and chivalrous guy. ‘The Day of Lovers’ begins with men giving their novias a rose in exchange for a book. The rose has been associated with this day ever since medieval times, but the introduction of the book was a clever marketing ploy taking advantage of the fact that the deaths of both Shakespeare and Cervantes occurred on precisely the same day in 1616.

In the few days leading up to the event, down Barcelona’s main street, La Rambla, hundreds of makeshift rose and books stalls pop up. It is estimated that by the end of the day, some four million roses and 400,000 books will have been purchased in the name of love. You will be hard-pressed to find a woman without a rose in hand, and half of the total yearly book sales in Catalonia take place on this occasion.

As this day is not well recognised across Europe there’s not the usual tidal wave of tourists crowding the centre, leaving many Barcelona apartments available for couples to rent. La Diada de Sant Jordi is not an "official" holiday, but most romantics ditch the office to stroll along the beautiful streets of Barcelona and to take in the sultry springtime weather. Elsewhere, events have included hundreds of Jordis, Georges, Yuris, Jorges, Gorkas and others named after the Saint forming a chain to try to get into the Guinness Book of Records. And there’s always a variety of street performers and musicians on hand to add a romantic ambience to nearly every public square and plaza.

I personally think that this tradition needs to be adopted across the UK. It would give our wallets sufficient time to recover from the onslaught of Christmas shopping and there is no room for error with the gift; a rose or a book…simple!