The Day of Books and Roses
[5][6] In 2015, the Barcelona-based Diplocat Consortium (Catalan government) launched an effort to internationalize the Day of Books and Roses.[7][8] In 1923, Vicente Clavel, a Valencian writer, editor, and the director of the Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona, first proposed Book Day.The story begins with real events on April 23, 303 AD, when Romans beheaded a soldier named George, probably in Greece.[13] In 1931, five years after the establishment of the Day of the Book, the event was moved from October 7 to April 23 at the request of booksellers to coincide with the anniversaries of the deaths of Cervantes and Shakespeare.[2] Although the Day of Books and Roses quickly grew in popularity, under the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco, from 1936 to 1975, Catalan language and culture was repressed,[15][14] and Sant Jordi celebrations were prohibited.[16][17] In 2017, a group of Catalan publishers, booksellers, florists, and other professionals presented an application to UNESCO to have the Day of Books and Roses recognized as Intangible Heritage.
CataloniaCatalanLa RamblaPasseig de GràciaRambla de CatalunyaCatalan languageDiplocat ConsortiumCatalan governmentCasa BatllóMiguel de CervantesKing Alfonso XIIILa VanguardiaBernat MartorellGeorgePrincipality of CataloniaBourbonsRenaixençaShakespeareFrancisco FrancoWorld Book DayCity of LiteratureIntangible Heritage