Saturday, April 24, 2010

Sant Jordi 2010


I think I must be one of few Americans to observe St. George's Day or the Day of the Book. It's celebrated in the Catalan region of Spain, not even all of the nation, but the Catalan people don't mind that. Basically, St. George is their patron saint who slew a dragon and a rose grew out of its blood (I think). Somehow, because both Shakespeare and Cervantes died on April 23 of the same year, the occasion also became associated with literature. Nowadays, the streets of Barcelona fill with books and roses and there are talks by authors, poetry competitions, and that sort of thing. I think it's just the best concept for a holiday- a day based around reading with the added romantic bonus of red roses and knights and dragons, bliss! If you're interested, you can read more (in English) here.

Anyway, Austin knows it's one of my favorite things and I may have put it on his calendar so Friday night, I came home to a dozen deep red roses and a really fascinating book called "Spice: The History of Temptation" which I cannot wait to dig into.

2 comments:

Katybella said...

Love it Kelly! It sounds like a really neat holiday to observe! And Austin is such a sweetie!

paula said...

You have the most thoughtful, adorable husband in the world . . . perhaps in the universe. What a terrific day to celebrate!