Do you know what is celebrated in Spain and in other countries of the world in April?
In Spain in the month of April we usually have two of the best known festivals worldwide, Semana Santa and La Feria. But these parties are not always celebrated in the month of April, sometimes they can start in March or take place at the beginning of May.
I’m not going to talk about them today. Today I am going to tell you about a day that is always celebrated on April 23 and possibly you also celebrate it in your country, do you know what it is?
Origin of book day
Surely you know it because it is a day that is celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world and it most likely happens in your country.
In Spain this day has its origin in 1923, when Vicente Clavel Andrés (writer) promoted the celebration of this festivity and it was King Alfonso XIII who approved it and its first celebration was on October 7, 1926.
In the rest of the world, UNESCO promoted Book Day, which began to be celebrated in several countries in 1989. It was in 1995 that April 23 was established as a world date to celebrate it, as a tribute to literature and to encourage reading.
Do you know why this day was chosen? In Spain, this day has been celebrated since 1930 and it was selected because it is the day on which great authors of literature Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died. The International Union of Publishers proposed this date to UNESCO. Every April 23 since 2001, a World Book Capital has been established, the first capital was Madrid.
Also on this day, April 23, the Cervantes Awards are given, it is the Prize for Literature in the Spanish Language that the Ministry of Culture grants every year since 1976. You can see the winners here.
Sant Jordi: Roses and books
This celebration that began in Barcelona quickly spread throughout Catalonia and throughout Spain. In Catalonia it is also the day of the patron saint, Saint George’s Day or Diada de Sant Jordi. In this community it is common to exchange books and roses as gifts to loved ones.
Do you know why they give each others a rose and a book? To understand this tradition we have to know the Legend of Sant Jordi.
The legend explains that a long time ago, in Montblanc (Tarragona) a ferocious dragon capable of poisoning the air and killing with its breath, had the inhabitants of the city in fear. The inhabitants, scared and tired of his havoc and misdeeds, decided to calm him down by feeding one person a day that would be chosen by lottery. After several days, bad luck befell the princess. When the princess left her home and headed towards the dragon, a knight named Sant Jordi, in shining armor and on a white horse, suddenly appeared to come to her rescue. Sant Jordi raised his sword and pierced the dragon, finally freeing the princess and the citizens. From the dragon’s blood sprouted a rose bush with the reddest roses ever seen. Sant Jordi, triumphant, plucked a rose and offered it to the princess.
Casa Batllo Fountain
Sant Jordi existed, he was a soldier born in Greece in the 3rd century who fought under the orders of the Roman army. This soldier refused to persecute the Christians and for this reason they murdered him. When he died defending his religion, he was considered a martyr and the Catholic Church made him a saint. Currently Sant Jordi or San Jorge is a standard of Catalonia, Aragon, England and Portugal, Greece, among other countries in the world. It is also “assured” that he died on April 23, 303.
How is this day celebrated in Spain?
Although it is not a public holiday in Spain, it is a date that is celebrated throughout the territory, in schools and cultural associations.
On this day, many activities related to reading, writing and author recognition are carried out in schools, among them, of course, Cervantes and Don Quixote. It is easy to find an event in parks, municipal libraries, possibly a group reading of Don Quixote, a poetry recital, a play, a book signing… If you are in Spain on this date, stop by the library and ask because surely there is some activity to celebrate this day.
You can also let yourself go to a library and buy a book in Spanish!
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