Imagine you have woken up in Barcelona for the first time in your life. You walk outside and you notice something unusual. There are stands in every corner where people are buying and selling roses. You walk down some streets and see that some stands are also selling books.
“What is going on?” you wonder. Why all these books and roses? Shops are open, people are hurrying about to work or to school. It’s business as usual for everyone but it feels like a holiday. There’s an undefinable feeling of goodwill and friendship everywhere. Then it hits you. It’s 23rd April, Sant Jordi’s Day.
Once upon a time, the village of Montblanc in Tarragona was terrorized by a fierce dragon who demanded animals in exchange for not eating human beings. The villagers valued their lives and were happy to do what the dragon wanted.
Until one day there were no more animals left.
They decided to enter everyone’s names —including the names of the king and the princess— in a draw. Every day a name was chosen and that person was sacrificed to the dragon. Slowly, the population of the village began to decrease.
One day the princess’s name was drawn. Moments later, when she was standing outside the dragon’s cave trembling in fear, a knight in shining armour appeared out of the blue and killed the dragon before it could eat the princess. Blood poured out of the dragon’s chest, falling onto the ground. A huge rosebush grew out of the dragon’s blood with roses the colour of fire. The knight plucked a rose and offered it to the princess he had just saved.
The knight was Sant Jordi (or St. George as he’s known in England), and this is how the day of Catalonia’s patron saint became Catalonia’s very own Valentine’s Day.
Coincidentally, 23rd April is the date when William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, two of the world’s greatest authors, died in 1616. In 1995 UNESCO chose this date to celebrate the first International Book Day, a day to promote reading and publishing.
In Catalonia, books mingle with Sant Jordi’s roses. Traditionally men buy roses for their wives; women buy books for their husbands. Times have changed though. Today men will buy roses for their partners as well as for their mothers, daughters, and female friends. Women will also buy roses for their loved ones, and many will receive books as well. The Diada de Sant Jordi has become a day to celebrate love, friendship and culture.
On this special day, Barcelona’s busiest streets set up stalls where you can find all sorts of books. There are many book-signings as well. Rambla de Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia, Plaza Catalunya and Las Ramblas are a must.
Several museums and buildings of historical and cultural significance open their doors free of charge. Here are some you can visit:
You can watch sardanes, traditional Catalan dancing, in Plaza Sant Jaume in the evening.
And, if comic books and strategy games are your thing, visit Passeig Sant Joan (near the Arc de Triomf), where there will be book stalls and workshops all day long.
There is nothing like a book to go on an adventure. You may be lying down on your favourite sofa or sunbathing on the beach, but you’re really miles away, experiencing other lives and other ways of seeing the world. A good book will help you expand your vocabulary and discover the cultural and social aspects that come with a language.
Here are some tips to improve your language skills through reading:
No matter if this is your first Sant Jordi or if you’ve been giving roses to your loved ones since you were a child, everybody agrees that this is a special day. Have you decided how you’re going to spend it? Are you looking forward to reading any good books? Let us know in the comments below!
Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.
Wonder (v): to ask yourself.
Business as usual (exp): this is used to say people’s routine hasn’t changed even when something unusual is happening.
Goodwill (exp): friendly, helpful and/or cooperative feelings.
It hits you (exp): used when you realize something suddenly.
Run out of (pv): to finish something and have no more left.
A draw (n): the random selection of names, for example in a competition.
Out of the blue (exp): suddenly and unexpectedly.
Mingle (v): mix with others.
A must (exp): something that is so important you cannot miss it, for example when visiting a new city.
Be your thing (exp): when something is your “thing”, it means you enjoy doing that
to know by heart: to have something memorized very well.
Key
v = verb
exp = expression
n = noun
pv = phrasal verb
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
21/04/2020
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
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