The feast of Sant Jordi is one of Barcelona’s most popular and enduring celebrations. Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalonia, and his feast day has been celebrated here for a long time. The story goes like this:
According to legend, a dragon was terrorizing the Catalan village of Montblanc, eating all their animals. The town decided to sacrifice a person a day to the fearsome beast. One day, the king’s daughter was the person chosen. But just as the dragon was about to eat her, a handsome knight – Sant Jordi – appeared and killed the dragon, and a bush of red roses grew out of the ground where the dragon’s blood was spilled.
So how is Sant Jordi usually celebrated in Barcelona? Traditionally, bookstalls and rose-sellers line the streets, and people buy books and roses to exchange with friends, family and partners. Famous authors sign their books along Rambla Catalunya, as well as give readings in bookshops and cultural spaces all over the city.
The custom of giving a rose to celebrate the holiday dates back to at least the 15th century. The literary associations of the day came later; the 23rd of April is the day two literary giants died – Cervantes and Shakespeare – and publishers in the 1920s paired the day with a book-selling initiative.
Undoubtedly, the feast of Sant Jordi this year will be a little different. The celebrations have been postponed for now, and due to the lockdown, there won’t be any roses or books for sale on the streets.
But you can still celebrate Sant Jordi at home! We have some ideas:
Every year, Casa Battló, the Gaudi house on Passeig de Gracia, decorates its balconies with bunches of artificial roses, and this year they’re encouraging everyone to join in as a way of celebrating Sant Jordi at home. You could paint some roses on a white sheet (this is a good activity to do with children) or make your own origami roses out of paper. There are lots of options – from fairly easy roses to more challenging versions.
The streets will be empty, but Barcelona residents can help make sure the balconies are full of roses in celebration of the day.
While it might not be the same as browsing through book stalls in the spring sunshine, you can still buy someone special a book this year. There are lots of options for buying books and novels online, but if you’d like to support local, independent bookstores at the same time, then buy through Libelista. It’s an online platform where booksellers can sell their wares online. You’ll be giving someone a lovely gift and supporting an independent local business.
Sant Jordi is all about coming together with friends and family over books, and while that’s not possible during lockdown, it can happen virtually! Use Zoom to host a virtual book club with friends, where you all read a book in advance and then discuss the characters and plot. There’s a list of some popular book club choices on the Goodreads website if you need ideas. Try not to choose a book which is too long or difficult, and be sure it is suited to everyone’s English level.
Before the book club, try to come up with some ideas to get the conversation going – you’ll find inspiration for book club discussion questions online.
During the coronavirus crisis, lots of actors and writers have been sharing videos of themselves reading poetry or fiction aloud. What better way to celebrate Sant Jordi at home than listening to Patrick Stewart recite a Shakespeare sonnet?
And if you have children, you’ll be able to find lots of free literary activities on the World Book Day website, with free readings, bookmark design competitions, quizzes and games. There are suggestions for all ages, from young children to teenagers.
You can still celebrate Sant Jordi online and see how others are celebrating. Casa Battló are encouraging people to share photographs and tag them at #totsfemsantjordi.
And the association of florists, el Gremi de Floristes, has started a campaign #rosadesantjordiacasa for people to share images of their own roses and celebrations. Share a photograph of your decorated balcony on Instagram with the hashtag #santjordialsbalcons for the chance to win a bundle of children’s books from the association.
How will you celebrate Sant Jordi this year? Let us know your ideas for celebrating Sant Jordi at home in the comments!
Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.
Enduring (adj): something which has lasted for many years.
Fearsome (adj): scary.
Literary (adj): related to books and literature.
Postponed (v): delayed until a later date.
Bunches (n): a number of things of the same kind fastened together.
Browsing (v): casually looking at things that are for sale.
Come up with (phr v): to suggest or think of something.
Recite (v): to read something out loud, especially poetry.
Key
adj = adjective
v = verb
n = noun
pv = phrasal verb
17/10/2024
02/09/2024
14/08/2024
24/07/2024
16/07/2024
12/06/2024
07/05/2024
24/04/2024
10/04/2024
28/02/2024
16/02/2024
24/01/2024
10/01/2024
19/12/2023
13/12/2023
21/11/2023
13/11/2023
30/10/2023
18/10/2023
04/10/2023
23/08/2023
09/08/2023
02/08/2023
21/06/2023
31/05/2023
17/05/2023
03/05/2023
19/04/2023
05/04/2023
22/03/2023
08/03/2023
22/02/2023
08/02/2023
17/01/2023
04/01/2023
21/12/2022
07/12/2022
16/11/2022
02/11/2022
19/10/2022
12/10/2022
28/09/2022
14/09/2022
24/08/2022
10/08/2022
27/07/2022
06/07/2022
15/06/2022
01/06/2022
18/05/2022
04/05/2022
20/04/2022
06/04/2022
16/03/2022
02/03/2022
15/02/2022
02/02/2022
19/01/2022
05/01/2022
15/12/2021
01/12/2021
24/11/2021
10/11/2021
20/10/2021
06/10/2021
22/09/2021
15/09/2021
25/08/2021
11/08/2021
21/07/2021
07/07/2021
23/06/2021
16/06/2021
01/06/2021
19/05/2021
05/05/2021
21/04/2021
07/04/2021
29/03/2021
24/03/2021
10/03/2021
17/02/2021
03/02/2021
20/01/2021
07/01/2021
16/12/2020
02/12/2020
24/11/2020
11/11/2020
03/11/2020
19/10/2020
05/10/2020
24/09/2020
09/09/2020
20/08/2020
06/08/2020
20/07/2020
02/07/2020
25/06/2020
09/06/2020
27/05/2020
13/05/2020
29/04/2020
22/04/2020
15/04/2020
03/04/2020
25/03/2020
18/03/2020
13/03/2020
11/03/2020
04/03/2020
26/02/2020
19/02/2020
12/02/2020
05/02/2020
29/01/2020
21/01/2020
15/01/2020
09/01/2020
07/01/2020
23/12/2019
19/12/2019
11/12/2019
26/11/2019
25/11/2019
13/11/2019
07/11/2019
31/10/2019
23/10/2019
17/10/2019
18/09/2019
04/09/2019
28/08/2019
22/08/2019
15/08/2019
07/08/2019
31/07/2019
24/07/2019
17/07/2019
03/07/2019
26/06/2019
19/06/2019
05/06/2019
29/05/2019
23/05/2019
15/05/2019
23/04/2019
10/04/2019
03/04/2019
27/03/2019
20/03/2019
13/03/2019
06/03/2019
20/02/2019
13/02/2019
07/02/2019
30/01/2019
23/01/2019
04/01/2019
12/12/2018
21/11/2018
14/11/2018
07/11/2018
31/10/2018
24/10/2018
04/10/2018
25/09/2018
19/09/2018
13/09/2018
06/09/2018
29/08/2018
22/08/2018
16/08/2018
02/08/2018
18/07/2018
03/07/2018
27/06/2018
20/06/2018
14/06/2018
06/06/2018
31/05/2018
22/05/2018
09/05/2018
02/05/2018
26/04/2018
18/04/2018
13/04/2018
04/04/2018
29/03/2018
21/03/2018
14/03/2018
07/03/2018
28/02/2018
22/02/2018
15/02/2018
07/02/2018
31/01/2018
24/01/2018
17/01/2018
10/01/2018
27/12/2017
20/12/2017
13/12/2017
07/12/2017
29/11/2017
22/11/2017
08/11/2017
01/11/2017
25/10/2017
18/09/2017
11/11/2015
22/09/2015
Oxford House Language School
C/Diputación 279, Bajos
(entre Pau Claris y Paseo de Gracia).
08007 - Barcelona (Eixample)
Tel: 93 174 00 62 | Fax: 93 488 14 05
info@oxfordhousebcn.com
Oxford TEFL Barcelona
Oxford House Prague
Oxford TEFL Jobs
Legal Notice – Cookie Policy
Ethical channel
Leave a Reply