sant jordi

Bookshop association expects profitable year on Catalonia’s day of books and roses after good business at the weekend

Today, Catalans celebrate Sant Jordi, one of the most cherished and romantic days of the year

Roger Torrent reminded audience of “those who cannot be with us to celebrate,” at public event ahead of the holiday

Flower sales expected to increase some 25% compared to last year, due to holiday being during the week

For the day of books and roses on April 23, the City Council has made agreements to desaturate the most crowded areas

Fans from all over Spain lined up for the first of two Barcelona dates, kicking off the European ‘Joanne World Tour’

Every year on 23rd April, the UNESCO World Book Day, Catalans celebrate their patron saint, Sant Jordi's Day (Saint George). It is one of the Catalans’ most cherished national days, when people give books and red roses to friends and loved ones in celebration of love and literature. Traditionally men used to give a red rose to women and women gave men books in return. But the tradition has evolved and nowadays men and women both give and receive books and roses to each other as well as to friends and even co-workers. This year’s Sant Jordi's Day was an especially sunny day in Catalonia. The streets of Barcelona and all around the country were flooded with books and flower stands, where people lined up to buy books and roses or just stroll around enjoying the magic moment. Like every year hundreds of authors from Catalonia but also from all around the world came to the Catalan capital to sign their books and to join the festive atmosphere. In addition, emblematic buildings such as Gaudi’s Casa Batlló on the famous Passeig de Gracia was decorated with red roses and encouraged visitors to learn about the legend of Sant Jordi.

London’s Borough Market hosted the celebration of Sant Jordi’s Day in the British capital. Like all over Catalonia, stalls selling books and roses colored one of the most iconic spots in the city, complete with Catalan food tasting, storytelling, traditional human towers (Castellers) and a mix of both Catalan and English folklore. The Delegation of the Catalan Government to the UK and Ireland, together with the Catalan community in the UK, the Tourism Office, and Institut Ramon Llull London, which promotes Catalan culture and literature, also took part in the celebrations and had their own stalls at the market. 

One of Catalonia’s most beloved festivals, Sant Jordi, will be celebrated in a record 50 countries worldwide this year. Although Catalonia’s Patron Saint Day is on the 23^rd of April, there are activities related to books and roses—the main protagonists of the day—scheduled over the course of a few weeks in New York, Bogotá, London, Melbourne, Johannesburg, and many others. The Delegations of the Catalan Government abroad play a key role in exporting Sant Jordi around the world. Also active is the Institut Ramon Llull (IRL), which is a public institution in charge of promoting Catalan culture and language, and the University Network of Catalan Studies Abroad. Thus, exhibitions, public readings, stalls selling books and roses, and elements of Catalan culture, such as traditional human towers (Castellers), will deliver the spirit of Sant Jordi all over the globe.

Catalonia’s patron saint, Sant Jordi, celebrates love and literature and joins together books and roses in one of Catalans' most beloved traditions. This year, the 23^rd of April is on a Sunday and therefore wholesalers expect rose sales to flourish the whole weekend, starting on Friday and lasting until Monday. This will allow them to maintain the same sales levels as last year's and reach the figure of 6 million roses. ‘Freedom’ is expected to be the best-selling variety of rose, distributed in more ecological and original wrappings, reducing the use of cellophane. Although some customers may go away for the weekend, florists expect sales to be compensated by the number of visitors to the city, which will exceptionally open its shops on Sunday.

More than 15,000 people attended the concert ‘Our home, your home’ which is part of the homonymous campaign aimed to emphasise Catalonia’s willingness to welcome refugees. 50 artists of different origins and musical styles contributed to make the public aware of the humanitarian crisis which has left, according to the UN, more than 200 million people worldwide escaping from war and poverty. The promoters of the campaign, which gathers together more than 200 Catalan associations and NGOs and a hundred cultural companies and citizens, recalled that the Spanish Government has only received 516 refugees of the 10,772 initially established in the scheme of distribution of the European Commission. Next Saturday, Barcelona will host a demonstration to ensure that Catalan institutions act, leaving aside the inaction from Spain, to start hosting refugees in Catalonia.

After the 2016 celebrations for Sant Jordi’s festival came to a close, Catalan Minister of Culture Santi Vila announced that the Catalan Government will offer its full support to an initiative to recognise the feast day as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). As opposed to UNESCO World Heritage, ICH safeguarding works to promote and protect traditions, practices, and other living expressions of culture beyond physical sites, objects, and monuments. Until now, the Catalan Booksellers Guild and the Catalan Publishers Guild have discussed the initiative with the House of Books — the same institute that worked to have the 23^rd of April recognised as UNESCO World Book Day. 

The festivity of Sant Jordi, one of the most romantic and anticipated days of the year for many Catalans, was a success. Hundreds of thousands of people headed to the streets this Saturday in search of a book and a rose for their loved ones. Barcelona was particularly crowded, but so were the other capitals of Catalonia, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and all the small towns and villages of the country. Late in the afternoon, the rain slightly hampered the celebration in parts of the country, especially in the north. Book sellers and florists, however, were satisfied with expected sales of about 1.5 million books and around 5.5 million roses. Sant Jordi was also a great occasion for readers to meet their favourite authors, who took part in different book signings. In Barcelona, where the most famous authors were, but also in other cities, there were long queues for a signature. The bestseller in Catalan was 'La filla del capità Groc', by Víctor Amela.

The Catalan President said during his speech on the occasion of Sant Jordi that the festivity is an opportunity to have the voices of the Catalans “heard and respected”, and he urged to achieve this through “arguments, proposals, dialogue and understanding”. Carles Puigdemont described Sant Jordi as “one of the most anticipated days of the year in Catalonia and one of the most beautiful and enjoyable to experience” and invited “everyone, people from here and from abroad, to enjoy it in person”. “Take full advantage of this day and enjoy it with happiness, civility and respect for everyone!”, he added, in a televised speech.

Sant Jordi’s Day is not only a huge festival for Catalonia, but for the printing and publishing industry as well. Annually, book sales during the festival weekend contribute between 5 and 8 percent of yearly profits. In 2015, the Catalan Booksellers Guild reported that 1.5 million books had been sold in Catalonia during the Sant Jordi festival, bringing in roughly €19.2 million. If last year’s trends where buyers bought more than one book during the festival continue, sales could be even higher for printed books of varying topics and genres. This year’s predicted top-selling books for Sant Jordi cover everything from ways to tidy up and organise your home to psychological thrillers and island mysteries.