Overview

Flower stalls and book stands are set up all over the city in preparation for April 23rd, the date of Catalunya's Sant Jordi's Day (St. George's Day). Men give women a rose and women give men a book as a symbol of love or friendship on this day. According to legend, Sant Jordi killed a dragon that terrorized Cirenaica in the Near East and saved a beautiful princess from death, thus causing the local population to convert to Christianity. Many still follow the 15th century tradition of visiting the chapel dedicated to the saint in the Palau de la Generalitat, which opens its doors to the public on Sant Jordi's Day.