A Sense of Spain: Sant Jordi Day

Saint George is the patron saint of Catalonia where he is known as Sant Jordi.

[unspoken text: Robin Benson Linek, associate director of membership and social engagement]]

His Saint’s Day, April 23rd, is celebrated by exchanging roses and books.

Why are roses and books associated with Saint George?

Roses have been a part of Sant Jordi Day since medieval times.

In an old legend, a princess offered herself as a sacrifice to the evil town dragon.

Brave Saint George intervened and triumphantly slayed the dragon.

He then gave the princess a magical red rose made of dragon’s blood.

The book exchange started in 1923 to commemorate the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare who both passed away on April 23, 1616.

This was the genesis of World Book Day (Día del Libro), which became an essential part of the Sant Jordi Day celebrations in Catalonia.

Since World Book Day and Sant Jordi Day both occur on April 23rd, they have been combined to create the world’s most unique celebration of literature and love.

Rose and book stalls pop up throughout Catalonia for this big day.

Traditionally, men were given books and women were given roses.

But now, everyone enjoys both.

Let’s celebrate St. Jordi Day by making a rose out of an old book.

YOU WILL NEED :

Three pages from a discarded book, a stick, glue or tape, and scissors.

Cut pages into three squares.

Fold into quarters and then again diagonally.

Cut across the “open side” to make a half-heart shape.

Make a tiny nip on the other end.

Repeat two more times so that you have a total of three layers.

Cut one petal from one flower.

Cut two petals from the next flower.

And three petals from the final flower.

Keep the small pieces close by.

Next, we will assemble the layers.

Roll the smallest petal together.

Carefully, glue or tape to hold in place.

Continue to tape or glue for all six sections.

Use a pencil to roll the edges open.

Continue for the rest of the petals.

Take the smallest petal and attach it to the stick.

Thread the rest of the layers onto the stick and fasten with glue.

So pretty.

I hope that you had fun learning about Sant Jordi Day and making a paper flower at home.

We’ll see you next time, right here, on A Sense of Spain.

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