Monday 23 April 2012

day of books and roses

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Feliç dia de Sant Jordi for those of you in Catalonia, and for those who aren't, it's a festive day we should all consider importing!

Sant Jordi (Saint George) is the patron saint of Catalonia, and it's a day of love and literature here (the literature connection comes from it being the birthday of Cervantes, Shakespeare, and incidentally my dad), with people gifting each other roses and books. As I type, there are rose sellers every few meters throughout Barcelona, and book sellers massed on some main promenades in the centre. People typically play hooky from work for an hour or so to wander the stalls and enjoy the carefree, happy atmosphere. On a financial note, Sant Jordi alone is responsible for an enormous percentage of books sold in Catalonia all year (as much as 10% this one day).

Albert and I had a little substitute celebration in Bonn yesterday. : ) Just as fantastic as the rose and the books was the fact that he managed to get Gummy Bear wrapping paper!

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I got Albert an illustrated guide to his own neighbourhood in Barcelona, and he got me a book on self-portrait photography (ha!) and an Asterix comic in Catalan to improve my vocabulary. :)

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For a glimpse of a more traditional Sant Jordi, on the streets of Barcelona, check out last years post!

Photos by Albert

Zara blouse, Snoozer Loser skirt, Alexandra Grecco floral crown

22 comments:

sweet harvest moon said...

Adorable!

Maite said...

me recuerda a mi epoca del colegio, siempre lo celebrabamos con una feria del libro, podiamos comprar libros viejos por 1 o 2 euros...

estrellasdefebrero.blogspot.com

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Maite: un Sant Jordi que podemos emular para sobrevivir la crísis entonces!

Franca said...

Oh that's a nice tradition! St. george's is of course also the english day and makes me think of drunk and pale English people in football tops!

Marzipan said...

Cute!

Xavi said...

Que passis una bona diada i que la gaudeixis intensament.

Closet Fashionista said...

yayy!! I wish we had that holiday here, we only have boring ones :p Like Independence Day ;)
http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

Virginie Bardot said...

Love, roses and literature? I cannot imagine a better Holiday!! I hope you had a great one and happy birthday to your father!!

That rose crown is perfect by the way, in a bloggosphere where the flower crowns seem to be getting bigger what the post, I really enjoy the subtle beauty of yours :)

Virginie xo

Unknown said...

What a lovely post. I'm wearing the same skirt on my blog today (in a different color)! Great minds think alike. :)

http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com

lauren, curious constellation said...

I am definitely adopting this holiday from now on. Books and roses are possibly one of my two favourite things.

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Virginie: thanks doll. : ) I do like a bit of restraint in my headpieces, especially since the population of Bonn already thinks I dress like an alien! ;)

Rebecca said...

Roses and literature, what a good festival! I really enjoy all your posts about the local culture. I've learned a lot more about Barcelona from you than I did guide books!

Emily, Ruby Slipper Journeys said...

@Rebecca: thanks! I do love my adopted city, and they have such a crazy but understated culture here, so it's fun to share it! I think guide books about Barcelona generally suffer from waffling on about "Spain" all the time...

Emily Peebles said...

What an amazing festival! I can't imagine a better holiday of trading books and roses. How neat that your father's birthday is the same as Shakespeare's. I wish there were some similar holiday like that in the States!

Annalise said...

Roses and books, what could be a better combination? Oh, gummy bear wrapping! Epic. :D You look darling in your rose crown and pretty white blouse. Glad to hear that you had such a nice day.
XOXO

C.G. Koens said...

Roses - yeah, okay. They're nice. But HELLO!! Why do we not have a day in the U.S. when everyone gives each other BOOKS?!?! I would ADORE that holiday. {sigh} What fun. And, for the record, I noticed the gummy bear paper before I noticed anything else. Very cool indeed. :-) Well done, Albert.

Annebeth said...

beautiful pictures like always, and a holiday to celebrate books sounds pretty awesome!

Rebeccak said...

I think I may need to adopt this celebration! What fun!

Emily, Resplendent Tranquility said...

I still think this holiday is hands down amazing. And what a lovely outfit to celebrate in! Your floral crown really takes the cake, though :)

Shophopper said...

What an awesome idea for a holiday. I would totally subscribe to it. A lot of my days are book gifting days already, but it would be nice to receive some as well! :) You look like such a classic beauty in that last picture, a Pre-Raphaelite dream come true!

Monique said...

Oh I remember this holiday from last year! I'd love to have a day to gift books!

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