Learn Spanish and discover Spanish culture: St George’s Day in Spain

Did you know that St George is the patron saint of the autonomous Communities of Aragon and Catalonia?
In Spain, St George’s day is celebrated on the 23rd April. It is especially important in Catalonia, where is it custom for men to give women a rose, and for the women to give the men a book in return.

The details of the legend of St George change according to where and by whom the story is told, but each retelling features a dragon, which terrorized a rich kingdom. The terrified inhabitants would send two lambs to the dragon each day in the hope that this would prevent its attacking their homes. However, this did not satisfy the dragon and so the people decided to send a child each day to be eaten. The luckless victims were chosen by means of a lottery, and one day it was the princess’s name that was drawn. Fortunately, she met St George on the way to the dragon’s cave, and he killed the dragon, saving her life. According to legend, a red rose sprang from the dragon’s blood, which the knight picked for the princess; this is the basis of the Spanish tradition of giving roses.

The tradition of giving books comes from the importance of 23rd April in the literary world. It is the anniversary of the death and of the burial of two literary greats: Cervantes and Shakespeare. What’s more, the day was declared World Book Day in 1996.

Here at Instituto Hemingway, we think that it is important that our students discover these little cultural traditions, even those that are less well-known.

No excuses: next Monday, we’ll all be expecting a rose or a book!!