Off the wire
• Road casualties in Austria hits record low in 2014  • CoE on combat drones: states must "scrupulously respect" limits set by int'l law  • Deutsche Bank fined record 2.5 bln USD for interest rate manipulation  • FTSE 100 closes higher on Thursday  • LME base metals close lower on Thursday  • Sides start drafting final nuclear deal in Vienna  • Global contest for students to show talent kicks off in St. Louis  • Reconciliation against radicalism urged at peace summit in Istanbul  • Roundup: Greek economy still struggling, five years after resort to bailout  • British public fiscal deficit down by 11.1 bln pounds in 2014/15  
You are here: 　 Home

Feature: Foreigners, locals enjoy Sant Jordi in Barcelona

Xinhua, April 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Foreigners and locals took to the streets of the northeastern city of Barcelona on Thursday, in the region of Catalonia, to enjoy Saint Jordi, a festival honoring the patron saint of Catalonia.

April 23 is International Book Day and Saint George or Saint Jordi (in Catalan), the patron saint of Catalonia where this day is associated with books and roses due to the legend.

A visitor from Singapore, Samantha, told Xinhua she was planning to leave the city, but as she read about the festival, she decided to stay one day more. "It is fun, it is nice. There are a lot of books, very interesting", she said.

The tradition dictates women buy a book for men while men buy a rose for women, as according to the legend, Sant Jordi gave the princess a rose after killing the dragon.

"I bought a flower this morning and then we went to the Cathedral and offer it to Jesus and Mother Mary", Samantha explained, "we also bought a book at La Pedrera and gave it to a male companion".

Not only visitors follow the tradition but also new residents, as Chie and Mitsuko from Japan, who have been living in Barcelona for six and seven years and this was the first time they had a stand at the festival.

"This is our first year of selling roses, but we have always bought books for people in Sant Jordi. After two years here, we started following this tradition", they explained to Xinhua while selling roses made of fabric.

Others followed the tradition since the first time they arrived. This is the case of a Chinese student who has been living in Barcelona for 11 years.

"I have always celebrated Sant Jordi and at school we hold competitions on drawings and literature" she told Xinhua while she was going to buy a book for her brother.

"I like the culture that involves this tradition", she said, "it does not exist in every part of the world", she added.

For many, Sant Jordi means culture and reading, but for book shops and florists it also means business. Spanish domestic demand is recovering and they expect to increase sales this year.

Oriol, from the book shop La Central, expects sales of books this year to grow.

According to local media, book shops expect to surpass the 19.3 million euros (20.91 million U.S. dollars) they earned last year and florists expect roses purchases to reach 7 million euros. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars) Endit