Spain's Version of Valentine's Day

As I had stated in an earlier post, Valentine’s Day is not a traditional Spanish celebration, but in my opinion, Spain actually has a better version of lovers’ day. Today is Sant Jordi (Saint George), the patron saint of Catalonia. Legend says that after Sant Jordi killed the dragon in a town called Montblanc, a red rose grew up from the ground where the dragon’s blood was spilt. Thus the tradition of giving your loved one a red rose began in medieval times. In the 20^th century a bookseller decided to add giving a book in exchange for a rose since both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes shared this day as their death date. This tradition inspired UNESCO to declare April 23rd the International Day of the Book. Eventhough this started in Catalonia, most of Spain’s cities and towns carry on with the tradition and you can spot book shop stalls on the main streets or squares filled with books and roses of any color. So today if you're lucky, you get roses, or books or both. Just my kind of day!