April 23: International Book Day

Perhaps you have heard that on April 23^rd, in Catalonia, San Jordi (Saint George) is celebrated with roses and books. At the same time, the 23^rd of April is also International Book Day. Merely a coincidence? Not quite.

The religious festival is celebrated by all Christians, Catholics or Orthodox on April 23^rd and has to do with the date on which St. George died. The saint, a young soldier during the time of the Roman Empire, received orders from Emperor Diocletian to persecute and kill Christians. However, he refused and preferred to die himself, beheaded after confessing that he had also converted to Christianity. For this reason, he was considered a martyr and his figure became so popular in the Middle Ages that he became the patron saint of many places in Europe, and among these, Catalonia.

The cult of the saint and the devotion to him, also gave birth to many legends about Saint George. The most famous one says that a long time ago, in a region from Spain, a fierce dragon terrified the inhabitants of a town. The only way to calm the dragon was to feed him with a human every day who was chosen by draw. One year it was the princess's turn, but at the last moment, a daring knight called Jordi, killed the dragon with his sword and rescued her. From the dragon's blood a rosebush formed and at the same moment, the knight picked a red rose and gave it to the princess.

Since the fifteenth century in Barcelona many fairs were organized where men took advantage of the moment to give a rose to their fiancées. Until now, the custom has continued and Sant Jordi has become a celebration of love and also friendship, since people give a rose not only to their couple but also to women who they are not romantically involved with: friends, mothers, sisters, etc. However, the custom of giving books this day did not begin at that time, but much later, during the 20^th century. 

It was the writer Vicent Clavel Andrés who in 1926 proposed that the Official Chamber of the Book of Barcelona organized a festivity that would pay tribute to books. Originally, the date they chose was October 7, when Cervantes was born. However, a year later, they decided to change the date and hold the celebration on April 23^rd, when the author had died, instead.

This initiative was so successful that in 1995 it became a worldwide festival. UNESCO decided to make April 23^rd the World Book and Copyright Day, since this date is when Cervantes and Shakespeare died (both on the same year, 16161) and also other famous authors such as Vladimir Nabokov were born.

In Spain, this day is the day when the Cervantes Prize is awarded to authors and since 2001, each year, a Worldwide Capital City of the Book is chosen, where many related events are organized. Madrid was the first city to become the Capital of the Book since these celebrations originated in Spain and this year, 2018, the capital is Athens.

And if you like books as much as we do, from Lewolang we want to share one of our favorite quotes with you:

 "To learn to read is to light a fire, every syllable that is spelled out is a spark." -Victor Hugo