CELEBRATING SAINT GEORGE'S DAY IN NOTTING HILL, LDN

What do Sant Boi de Llobregat and London have in common? Many things, but perhaps the most important is that Catalonia and England share a patron saint, Sant Jordi / Saint George.

For this reason, The Morgans have wanted to celebrate such an important and significant day for Catalan and English culture and have visited William Thacker's bookstore in Notting Hill, where they have shared a fantastic day among books and roses. It has been a beautiful day, especially for Jordi Morgan. They have been talking about the uncertain origins of Saint George, about the importance of the Gypsy community in European history and about the transmission of culture orally through nursery rhymes and children's songs like Jean Petit.

Download The Game of The Goose (Sant Jordi)

Download The Game of The Goose (Barcelona)

Saint George's Day, also called the Feast of Saint George, is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, old kingdoms, regions, states, countries and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Cáceres, Alcoi, Aragon and Catalonia. The saint also has his state holiday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the difference that St. George is not the patron saint of the region, but with his populism and the day of local festivals and masses, in addition to being part of the history of the suburb of Rio by syncretism, made the saint the most venerated in the city.

Saint George's Day is normally celebrated on 23 April. However, Church of England rules denote that no saints' day should be celebrated between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter Day, so if 23 April falls in that period the celebrations are transferred to after it. 23 April is the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death in the Diocletian Persecution of AD 303.

Saint George became the patron saint of the former Crown of Aragon, when King Pere I won the Battle of Alcoraz in 1096 commending his army and people to the auspices of the saint. He is also patron of several former territories under the Crown of Aragon, including Valencia, Catalonia, Sicily, Sardinia, and several regions of Italy.

In most cases, the reason for those cities' adoption of the Saint as their holy Patron and shared flag is linked to the Aragonese colonial influence and various battles that occurred throughout the Mediterranean during the Reconquista. The international expansion of the Reconquista that followed over the next two centuries across the Mediterranean also led to the adoption of the cross of Saint George as a coat of arms by Christian Crusaders.

More information: English Heritage

The Catalan version of the legend of Sant Jordi says that after a fierce battle between the knight and the dragon, the beast fell through the sharp iron and that from the drops of blood that reached the ground a rose was born that bloomed profusely every April. This is the explanation that the oral tradition gives to the custom of giving roses on St. George's Day, April 23.

Legends and imaginary stories aside, we know that the tradition of giving roses to lovers comes from afar. St. George's bond with the world of chivalry and courtly love may have been the germ of tradition. We also know that in the 15th century the so-called Fira dels Enamorats was held in Barcelona and that sellers of this flower settled around the Palau de la Generalitat. At the same time, it was customary to present with a rose the women who attended the Eucharist officiated in the chapel of St. George in the palace. And finally, there are those who say that the custom of giving roses has Roman roots, specifically the festivals in honour of the goddess Flora, which were later Christianized.

In the symbolic universe, the red rose, the colour of passion, is the flower of female love, while the carnation is reserved for male love. The decoration of the rose, for Sant Jordi, is also quite curious and mixes elements from different sources. On the one hand, female love represented by the rose of red, velvety and fragile petals, and sometimes accompanied by a spike representing fertility, gives rise to a very ancient interpretation of cereal seeds. But there are also those who make a more prosaic reading of it and relate it to the arrival of good weather. On the other hand, the flower of Sant Jordi is also usually decorated with elements that evoke Catalan culture, such as ties or ribbons with the flag, which recall the vindictive content of the day.

Today, florists, corners, avenues, streets and squares become points of sale and distribution of thousands and thousands of roses that are given to loved ones, as tradition dictates, but also to friends, girlfriends, parents, co-workers and clients. Because this flower has transcended the original meaning of love and has also become a gift of courtesy and friendship. As you can see, the rose has become the protagonist of the festival, to the point that domestic production does not cover the demand, so it is necessary to resort to imports from other parts of the world far away.

In the 15th century, a rose fair was held in Barcelona on the occasion of Sant Jordi. It was attended mainly by grooms, fiancés and young couples, and this suggests that the custom of giving a rose has its origins in this festival, which was held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It was proposed to turn this date into a precept festival for the first time in 1436, when the proposal was formulated in the Catalan Parliament. The proposal would take effect in 1456.

Since the 15th century, in Catalonia, St. George's Day has been a special day, and it is customary for couples to give each other a red rose like blood and a book. The monarchs Pere the Catholic, Jaume I or Pere the Ceremonious contributed to the saint's popularity. Despite being traditional, the popularization of giving roses was actively restored in 1914, thanks to the impetus of the Commonwealth.

Sant Jordi has been declared a National Day of Catalonia by the Generalitat, but this day is not a work holiday: it is a work and school day for students. For Sant Jordi, official receptions are held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya and in the world of education, where Floral Games are held, it is a day of big celebration and participation in which the printed and recited word has all the prominence.

The town of Montblanc, according to the Catalan Customs of the folklorist Joan Amades, was the place in Catalonia where Saint George killed the dragon and saved the princess. That is why, since 1987, the people of Montblanc have been reviving the Medieval Week of the Legend of Sant Jordi. The high point of the celebration is the representation of the legend of the noble horseman, hero and saviour of princesses, in the scenes picked up by the popular tradition.

The day has a vindictive aspect of Catalan culture and many balconies are decorated with the flag of Catalonia. There are stops with political demands, to help humanitarian organizations, to raise funds for schools or just to get some extra money. The media broadcast live from the most emblematic points. But above all it is necessary to emphasize the festive atmosphere that generates the day. There are activities in libraries and concerts in the streets that add to the busy Catalan cultural agenda.

Books and roses are sold all over Catalonia, but it is on the Rambla de Barcelona where the event reaches its maximum expression. Storms are added to the usual stops on the Rambla. There are also readings of poems or excerpts from books and theatres and performance halls do special promotions.

More information: Casa Batlló

 

Cavaller, bon cavaller,
alerta al drac,
que s'amaga rere els núvols
ran d'aquest llac.

Knight, good knight,
dragon alert,
which hides behind the clouds
ran of this lake.

Gabriel Janer Manila

APRIL 23-SAINT GEORGE, BOOKS & ROSES IN CATALONIA

Today is Saint George, the favourite Grandma's day. It is a beautiful festivity, especially if you live in Catalonia, because Catalan people pay homage to their patron (Sant Jordi) with books and roses. It is the greatest Catalan culture day.

 

The Fosters and The Grandma have celebrated this beautiful day, which is also a National Day in England, visiting Notting Hill.

Saint George's Day, also called the Feast of Saint George, is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, old kingdoms, regions, states, countries and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Cáceres, Alcoi, Aragon and Catalonia. The saint also has his state holiday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the difference that St. George is not the patron saint of the region, but with his populism and the day of local festivals and masses, in addition to being part of the history of the suburb of Rio by syncretism, made the saint the most venerated in the city.

Saint George's Day is normally celebrated on 23 April. However, Church of England rules denote that no saints' day should be celebrated between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter Day, so if 23 April falls in that period the celebrations are transferred to after it. 23 April is the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death in the Diocletian Persecution of AD 303.

Saint George became the patron saint of the former Crown of Aragon, when King Pere I won the Battle of Alcoraz in 1096 commending his army and people to the auspices of the saint. He is also patron of several former territories under the Crown of Aragon, including Valencia, Catalonia, Sicily, Sardinia, and several regions of Italy.

In most cases, the reason for those cities' adoption of the Saint as their holy Patron and shared flag is linked to the Aragonese colonial influence and various battles that occurred throughout the Mediterranean during the Reconquista. The international expansion of the Reconquista that followed over the next two centuries across the Mediterranean also led to the adoption of the cross of Saint George as a coat of arms by Christian Crusaders.

More information: English Heritage

The Catalan version of the legend of Sant Jordi says that after a fierce battle between the knight and the dragon, the beast fell through the sharp iron and that from the drops of blood that reached the ground a rose was born that bloomed profusely every April. This is the explanation that the oral tradition gives to the custom of giving roses on St. George's Day, April 23.

Legends and imaginary stories aside, we know that the tradition of giving roses to lovers comes from afar. St. George's bond with the world of chivalry and courtly love may have been the germ of tradition. We also know that in the 15th century the so-called Fira dels Enamorats was held in Barcelona and that sellers of this flower settled around the Palau de la Generalitat. At the same time, it was customary to present with a rose the women who attended the Eucharist officiated in the chapel of St. George in the palace. And finally, there are those who say that the custom of giving roses has Roman roots, specifically the festivals in honour of the goddess Flora, which were later Christianized.

In the symbolic universe, the red rose, the colour of passion, is the flower of female love, while the carnation is reserved for male love. The decoration of the rose, for Sant Jordi, is also quite curious and mixes elements from different sources. On the one hand, female love represented by the rose of red, velvety and fragile petals, and sometimes accompanied by a spike representing fertility, gives rise to a very ancient interpretation of cereal seeds. But there are also those who make a more prosaic reading of it and relate it to the arrival of good weather. On the other hand, the flower of Sant Jordi is also usually decorated with elements that evoke Catalan culture, such as ties or ribbons with the flag, which recall the vindictive content of the day.

Today, florists, corners, avenues, streets and squares become points of sale and distribution of thousands and thousands of roses that are given to loved ones, as tradition dictates, but also to friends, girlfriends, parents, co-workers and clients. Because this flower has transcended the original meaning of love and has also become a gift of courtesy and friendship. As you can see, the rose has become the protagonist of the festival, to the point that domestic production does not cover the demand, so it is necessary to resort to imports from other parts of the world far away.

In the 15th century, a rose fair was held in Barcelona on the occasion of Sant Jordi. It was attended mainly by grooms, fiancés and young couples, and this suggests that the custom of giving a rose has its origins in this festival, which was held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It was proposed to turn this date into a precept festival for the first time in 1436, when the proposal was formulated in the Catalan Parliament. The proposal would take effect in 1456.

More information: GenCat (Catalan Version)

Since the 15th century, in Catalonia, St. George's Day has been a special day, and it is customary for couples to give each other a red rose like blood and a book. The monarchs Pere the Catholic, Jaume I or Pere the Ceremonious contributed to the saint's popularity. Despite being traditional, the popularization of giving roses was actively restored in 1914, thanks to the impetus of the Commonwealth.

Sant Jordi has been declared a National Day of Catalonia by the Generalitat, but this day is not a work holiday: it is a work and school day for students. For Sant Jordi, official receptions are held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya and in the world of education, where Floral Games are held, it is a day of big celebration and participation in which the printed and recited word has all the prominence.

The town of Montblanc, according to the Catalan Customs of the folklorist Joan Amades, was the place in Catalonia where Saint George killed the dragon and saved the princess. That is why, since 1987, the people of Montblanc have been reviving the Medieval Week of the Legend of Sant Jordi. The high point of the celebration is the representation of the legend of the noble horseman, hero and saviour of princesses, in the scenes picked up by the popular tradition.

The day has a vindictive aspect of Catalan culture and many balconies are decorated with the flag of Catalonia. There are stops with political demands, to help humanitarian organizations, to raise funds for schools or just to get some extra money. The media broadcast live from the most emblematic points. But above all it is necessary to emphasize the festive atmosphere that generates the day. There are activities in libraries and concerts in the streets that add to the busy Catalan cultural agenda.

Books and roses are sold all over Catalonia, but it is on the Rambla de Barcelona where the event reaches its maximum expression. Storms are added to the usual stops on the Rambla. There are also readings of poems or excerpts from books and theatres and performance halls do special promotions.

More information: Casa Batlló

Cavaller, bon cavaller,
alerta al drac,
que s'amaga rere els núvols
ran d'aquest llac.

Knight, good knight,
dragon alert,
which hides behind the clouds
ran of this lake.

Gabriel Janer Manila

2017 CATALAN GENERAL STRIKE, DIGNITY VS. TYRANNY

Today, The Grandma has been remembering the general strike that was held in Catalonia on a day like today in 2017 to protest against the violence of the Spanish police over the Catalan population who was voting in a peaceful referendum.

Voting is a right, the most important thing in a democracy. If you attack your peaceful population, you are not a democracy, you are a tyranny, a dictatorship or an absolutist monarchy, or the three at time.

Catalan separatists held a general strike on 3 October 2017 following Catalonia's referendum on independence two days earlier.

The referendum, which was held in defiance of Spanish national court orders, resulted in over 900 people injured as the national police attempted to prevent Catalans from voting. The violence galvanized separatist support for the strike, whose planning predated the crackdown, and led to endorsements from the Catalan government, the Catalan branches of the country's two largest labour unions, and pro-independence cultural groups.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, including 700,000 in Barcelona, participated in the strike. Despite high tensions, protests were civil, festive, and without incident, similar to prior pro-independence rallies.

While protesters targeted Spanish police and national government sites, other effects included suspended public transportation and port activities, cancelled university classes, and closed businesses small and large. Immediate effects of the strike included an emergency meeting called by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior and a rare televised address by Spanish King Felipe VI that condemned Catalan disloyalty and notably did not mention police violence during the referendum.

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont announced that the regional government would declare unilateral independence, which it did later that month.

On 3 October, two days after the referendum, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators blocked roads across Catalonia, including main thoroughfares in Barcelona. Farmers blocked highways with their tractors.

More information: The Intercept

By 9:30 a.m., the Barcelona bus and subway systems were almost entirely halted. Catalonia's railway company suspended service, the national railway ran minimally, and the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona closed, as did places of work from small stores to the large, wholesale food-trading market Mercabarna. Universities cancelled classes and the large public market La Boqueria was nearly empty. The strike included the staff of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and Sagrada Família basilica, and Barcelona's football team, FC Barcelona.

Barcelona's airport and most other large industries, however, ran without disruption. Many students and farmworkers participated. By midday, in Barcelona, tens of thousands of people occupied the city's major streets -Avinguda Diagonal, Gran Via, Via Laietana- en route to the major demonstrations at the city's administrative center, Plaça Sant Jaume, and the intersection of Barcelona's other city squares at Ronda de la Universitat. Demonstrators gathered before the region's town halls before a planned action at 6 p.m. Barcelona city police later estimated the city's crowd to be 700,000 people in size.

The Spanish police were a focal point of protest as a response to their actions during the referendum. A manifesto from the Board for Democracy, read from atop a car, called for withdrawal of Spanish security forces and more dialogue in lieu of force. It charged the state with aggressive violation of the public's fundamental rights and democratic liberties.

Protesters chanted, Spanish police get out! Demonstrators surrounded the hotels housing Spanish police to demand they leave Catalonia, which was also demanded by Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.

In the small towns of Calella and Pineda de Mar, protests led some hotels to eject their Spanish police guests. Protests at the National Police Corps station in Barcelona continued from the day prior for its role in repressing the referendum. Demonstrators also protested the Spanish Delegation to Catalonia and showed broad contempt for the Spanish press, whom they accused of manipulative reporting and casting separatists as greedy and violent.

Despite high tensions, protests were civil, festive, and without incident, similar to prior pro-independence rallies. In one case, a protester who threw a beer can into riot police was surrounded by fellow protesters who chanted We are a people of peace and encouraged him to leave.

More information: El Nacional

Firefighters and the Catalan police acted in an improvised role as peacekeepers at some protests. In one instance, the Catalan police defused a volatile standoff by convincing the Spanish police to leave. Posts on social media encouraged peaceful protest and resistance to incitement. The Catalan government forewarned against plainclothes officers who may infiltrate gatherings to sow discord. Some shops were forced to close by protesters who graffitied strikebreakers on their storefronts.

Protesters also sought to maintain momentum from the referendum. Some wore the Estelada in yellow, red, and blue. Crowds sang Catalan singer Lluís Llach's L'Estaca and the Catalan anthem, Els Segadors. On the Via Laietana, they chanted Withdraw the forces of occupation and The disgrace of Europe to the tune of the rock song Seven Nation Army.

The strike led the Spanish Ministry of the Interior to call an emergency meeting, and Spanish King Felipe VI to give a rare televised address that blamed Catalan leaders and the referendum for destabilizing the nation and showing disloyalty towards the powers of the state -a state that represents Catalan interests. He did not mention the police violence during the referendum, the main cause for the strike. Barcelona's mayor condemned the speech for its lack of solutions and appeal for dialogue. Catalans responded with a cassolada protest, in which residents publicly made noise with pots and pans.

The union of the Spanish military police compared circumstances in Catalonia to the violent 1981 peak of the Basque conflict, in a warning to police. The police union asked Spanish politicians to protect or withdraw those stationed in Catalonia. The security forces deployed to Catalonia were put on standby for the upcoming week. On the first night of the strike, their union filed complaints: that the Catalan police had not fulfilled its duties by not enforcing the Spanish court ban of the referendum, and that 200 officers were kicked out of a Calella hotel following a threat from the town's mayor.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy remained unrepentant, but met with opposition parties in Madrid. The spokesman for his party derided the political strike, compared the separatist function to Nazi indoctrination, and called for Catalan president Puigdemont to be banned from public office. Puigdemont, in turn, charged the Spanish government with returning to the authoritarian dictatorship of Franco. The first night of the strike, Puigdemont said that the Catalan government would declare independence within a week. Later that month, Catalonia declared its independence.

Red Pepper said that the action was perhaps the first large-scale workers' strike against state repression in Europe for over 40 years with solidarity between workers across professions: dockworkers refusing to accommodate armed police boats, firefighters protecting demonstrators, and farm workers creating blockades with tractors.

More information: The Guardian

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance
and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

MONTSERRAT, A SYMBOL OF THE CATALAN NATION

Today, The Grandma wants to commemorate a cultural event, the day of Our Lady of Montserrat, Patron of Catalonia.

Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat, in Catalan Mare de Déu de Montserrat, is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on the Montserrat Mountain in Catalonia.

She is the Patron Saint of Catalonia, an honour she shares with Saint George (Sant Jordi, in Catalan). The famed image once bore the inscription Nigra Sum Sed Formosa in Latin, I am Black, but Beautiful.

Pope Leo XIII granted the image a Canonical coronation on 11 September 1881. The image is one of the Black Madonnas of Europe, hence its familiar Catalan name, La Moreneta, the little dark-skinned one or the little dark one. Believed by some to have been carved in Jerusalem in the early days of the Church, it is more likely a Romanesque sculpture in wood from the late 12th century.

An 18th century polychrome statue of the same image is also displayed in Saint Peter's basilica, previously stored in the Vatican Museums which was gifted by the President of Brazil, Joao Goulart on the Papal election of Pope Paul VI in 1963. The image has been on display for Papal masses since the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.

The mountain of Montserrat has been of religious significance since pre-Christian times, when the Romans built a temple to honour the Roman goddess Venus.

By one account, the image of the Madonna was moved to Montserrat in 718, to avoid the danger posed by invading Saracens.

Legend has it that the Benedictine monks could not move the statue to construct their monastery, choosing to instead build around it. The statue's sanctuary is located at the rear of the chapel, where an altar of gold surrounds the icon, and is now a site of pilgrimage.

The 95-cm statue shows evidence of Byzantine conventional and stylized form, and is painted in polychrome. The reliquary statue of Sainte-Foy in Conques, in southern France, may have been a model. The art historical designation for this type of pose is called Throne of Wisdom. The body is thin, the face elongated. She holds an orb of the earth in her right hand. The Child's hand is raised in a formalized and traditional Eastern blessing.

More information: Abadia de Montserrat

In 2001 renovators working for the government observed that the black hands and face of La Moreneta had over the centuries undergone a change in colour. They attribute the change -from a lighter tone to black- either to prolonged exposure to candle smoke or a chemical reaction caused by a varnish used as a paint sealant. The statue was repainted black by successive generations of restorers. A series of tests, including X-rays, revealed the statue's original colour and also showed that the last repainting took place at the turn of the 18th century.

After making a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Montserrat around 1203, Pere Nolasc went to Barcelona where he began to practice various works of charity. Nolasc became concerned with the plight of Christians captured in Moorish raids and decided to establish a religious order to succour these unfortunates.

Upon his recovery from battle wounds, Ignatius of Loyola visited the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat, on 25 March 1522, where he laid down his military accoutrements before the image. He then led a period of asceticism before later founding the Society of Jesus.

The hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, known as el Virolai and sung at noon each day by the Escolania de Montserrat boys' choir, begins with the words: Rosa d'abril, Morena de la serra... (Rose of April, dark-skinned lady of the mountain...). Therefore, this virgin is sometimes also known as the Rosa d'abril. Her feast is kept on April 27.

The statue has always been considered one of the most celebrated images in Europe.

The name Montserrat, traditionally abbreviated to Serrat, Rat, Rateta, Tat or Tóna, and also to Montse in recent years, is a popular girl's name in Catalonia.

More information: Montserrat Visita

Rosa d'abril, Morena de la serra
De Montserrat estel
Il·lumineu la catalana terra
Guieu-nos cap al Cel
Guieu-nos cap al Cel

April rose, dark-skinned lady of the mountain
From Montserrat star,
Illuminate the Catalan land
Guide us to Heaven
Guide us to Heaven

Jacint Verdaguer

APRIL 23. SAINT GEORGE, BOOKS & ROSES IN CATALONIA

Today is Saint George, the favourite Grandma's day. It is a beautiful festivity, especially if you live in Catalonia, because Catalan people pay homage to their patron with books and roses. It is the greatest Catalan culture day.

Saint George's Day, also called the Feast of Saint George, is the feast day of Saint George as celebrated by various Christian Churches and by the several nations, old kingdoms, regions, states, countries and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Cáceres, Alcoi, Aragon and Catalonia. The saint also has his state holiday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the difference that St. George is not the patron saint of the region, but with his populism and the day of local festivals and masses, in addition to being part of the history of the suburb of Rio by syncretism, made the saint the most venerated in the city.

Saint George's Day is normally celebrated on 23 April. However, Church of England rules denote that no saints' day should be celebrated between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter Day, so if 23 April falls in that period the celebrations are transferred to after it. 23 April is the traditionally accepted date of the saint's death in the Diocletian Persecution of AD 303.

Saint George became the patron saint of the former Crown of Aragon, when King Pere I won the Battle of Alcoraz in 1096 commending his army and people to the auspices of the saint. He is also patron of several former territories under the Crown of Aragon, including Valencia, Catalonia, Sicily, Sardinia, and several regions of Italy.

In most cases, the reason for those cities' adoption of the Saint as their holy Patron and shared flag is linked to the Aragonese colonial influence and various battles that occurred throughout the Mediterranean during the Reconquista. The international expansion of the Reconquista that followed over the next two centuries across the Mediterranean also led to the adoption of the cross of Saint George as a coat of arms by Christian Crusaders.

More information: English Heritage

The Catalan version of the legend of Sant Jordi says that after a fierce battle between the knight and the dragon, the beast fell through the sharp iron and that from the drops of blood that reached the ground a rose was born that bloomed profusely every April. This is the explanation that the oral tradition gives to the custom of giving roses on St. George's Day, April 23.

Legends and imaginary stories aside, we know that the tradition of giving roses to lovers comes from afar. St. George's bond with the world of chivalry and courtly love may have been the germ of tradition. We also know that in the 15th century the so-called Fira dels Enamorats was held in Barcelona and that sellers of this flower settled around the Palau de la Generalitat. At the same time, it was customary to present with a rose the women who attended the Eucharist officiated in the chapel of St. George in the palace. And finally, there are those who say that the custom of giving roses has Roman roots, specifically the festivals in honour of the goddess Flora, which were later Christianized.

In the symbolic universe, the red rose, the colour of passion, is the flower of female love, while the carnation is reserved for male love. The decoration of the rose, for Sant Jordi, is also quite curious and mixes elements from different sources. On the one hand, female love represented by the rose of red, velvety and fragile petals, and sometimes accompanied by a spike representing fertility, gives rise to a very ancient interpretation of cereal seeds. But there are also those who make a more prosaic reading of it and relate it to the arrival of good weather. On the other hand, the flower of Sant Jordi is also usually decorated with elements that evoke Catalan culture, such as ties or ribbons with the flag, which recall the vindictive content of the day.

Today, florists, corners, avenues, streets and squares become points of sale and distribution of thousands and thousands of roses that are given to loved ones, as tradition dictates, but also to friends, girlfriends, parents, co-workers and clients. Because this flower has transcended the original meaning of love and has also become a gift of courtesy and friendship. As you can see, the rose has become the protagonist of the festival, to the point that domestic production does not cover the demand, so it is necessary to resort to imports from other parts of the world far away.

In the 15th century, a rose fair was held in Barcelona on the occasion of Sant Jordi. It was attended mainly by grooms, fiancés and young couples, and this suggests that the custom of giving a rose has its origins in this festival, which was held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It was proposed to turn this date into a precept festival for the first time in 1436, when the proposal was formulated in the Catalan Parliament. The proposal would take effect in 1456.

Since the 15th century, in Catalonia, St. George's Day has been a special day, and it is customary for couples to give each other a red rose like blood and a book. The monarchs Pere the Catholic, Jaume I or Pere the Ceremonious contributed to the saint's popularity. Despite being traditional, the popularization of giving roses was actively restored in 1914, thanks to the impetus of the Commonwealth.

Sant Jordi has been declared a National Day of Catalonia by the Generalitat, but this day is not a work holiday: it is a work and school day for students. For Sant Jordi, official receptions are held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya and in the world of education, where Floral Games are held, it is a day of big celebration and participation in which the printed and recited word has all the prominence.

The town of Montblanc, according to the Catalan Customs of the folklorist Joan Amades, was the place in Catalonia where Saint George killed the dragon and saved the princess. That is why, since 1987, the people of Montblanc have been reviving the Medieval Week of the Legend of Sant Jordi. The high point of the celebration is the representation of the legend of the noble horseman, hero and saviour of princesses, in the scenes picked up by the popular tradition.

The day has a vindictive aspect of Catalan culture and many balconies are decorated with the flag of Catalonia. There are stops with political demands, to help humanitarian organizations, to raise funds for schools or just to get some extra money. The media broadcast live from the most emblematic points. But above all it is necessary to emphasize the festive atmosphere that generates the day. There are activities in libraries and concerts in the streets that add to the busy Catalan cultural agenda.

Books and roses are sold all over Catalonia, but it is on the Rambla de Barcelona where the event reaches its maximum expression. Storms are added to the usual stops on the Rambla. There are also readings of poems or excerpts from books and theatres and performance halls do special promotions.

More information: Casa Batlló

Cavaller, bon cavaller,
alerta al drac,
que s'amaga rere els núvols
ran d'aquest llac.

Knight, good knight,
dragon alert,
which hides behind the clouds
ran of this lake.

Gabriel Janer Manila

SEPTEMBER 11, THE NATIONAL DAY OF CATALONIA

Commemorating 'La Diada'

Today, September 11, The Grandma celebrates The National Day of Catalonia with her friends visiting some of the most important places to pay homage: el Fossar de les Moreres and the statue of Rafael Casanova in Barcelona and Rafael Casanova's tomb in Sant Boi de Llobregat.

The National Day of Catalonia, in Catalan Diada Nacional de Catalunya, is a day-long festival in Catalonia and one of its official national symbols, celebrated annually on 11 September.

It commemorates the fall of Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714 and the subsequent loss of Catalan institutions and laws.

The Army of Catalonia that initially fought in support of the Habsburg dynasty's claim to the Spanish throne were finally defeated at the Siege of Barcelona by the army of the Bourbon king Philip V of Spain on 11 September 1714 after 14 months of siege. That meant the loss of the Catalan constitutions and the institutional system of the Principality of Catalonia under the aegis of the Nueva Planta decrees, and the establishment of absolutism.

The holiday was first celebrated on 11 September 1886. In 1888, coinciding with the inauguration of the Barcelona Universal Exposition, a statue in honor of Rafael Casanova was set up, which would become the point of reference of the events of the Diada.

The celebration gained popularity over the following years; the Diada of 1923 was a great mass event, with more than a thousand floral offerings, acts throughout Catalonia and a certain institutional participation. But the demonstrations caused 17 wounded, five policemen and 12 protesters, and several arrests. The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera banned the celebration. During the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), the Generalitat de Catalunya (the government of Catalonia) institutionalized the celebration.

More information: MHCAT (Catalan Version)

It was suppressed by Francoist Spain in 1939, and relegated to the family and private sphere, but continued to be celebrated clandestinely. The monument of Rafael Casanova was removed.

Since 1940 the National Front of Catalonia took advantage of the day to carry out some propaganda actions: distribution of anti-fascist leaflets, clandestine hanging of senyeres, etc. It was celebrated publicly for the first time again on 11 September 1976, followed by a huge demonstration demanding Catalan autonomy in Barcelona the next year, on 11 September 1977, in which the Casanova's statue was repositioned in its place, and the celebration was reinstated officially in 1980 by the Generalitat de Catalunya, upon its restoration after the Francoist State, becoming the first law approved by the restored Parliament of Catalonia.

Nationalist organizations, political parties and institutions traditionally lay floral offerings at monuments of those who led the defence of the city such as Rafael Casanova and General Moragues, marking their stand against the king Philip V of Spain.

Typically, Catalan nationalists organize demonstrations and meet at the Fossar de les Moreres in Barcelona, where they pay homage to the defenders of city who died during the siege and were buried there.

Throughout the day, there are patriotic demonstrations and cultural events in many Catalan villages and many citizens wave senyeres and estelades. The event has become more explicitly political and particularly focused on independence rallies in the 2010s.

More information: Patrimoni Gencat

 Al Fossar de les Moreres no s'hi enterra cap traïdor

fins perdent nostres banderes, serà l'urna de l'honor.

In the pit of the mulberry trees no traitor is not buried

until losing our flags will honor the urn.

... AND DAYS 29 & 30, 'HE MIRAT AQUESTA TERRA'

 XXIV

Quan la llum pujada des del fons del mar
a llevant comença just a tremolar,
he mirat aquesta terra,
he mirat aquesta terra.

Quan per la muntanya que tanca el ponent
el falcó s'enduia la claror del cel,
he mirat aquesta terra,
he mirat aquesta terra.

Mentre bleixa l'aire malalt de la nit
i boques de fosca fressen als camins,
he mirat aquesta terra,
he mirat aquesta terra.

Quan la pluja porta l'olor de la pols
de les fulles aspres dels llunyans alocs,
he mirat aquesta terra,
he mirat aquesta terra.

Quan el vent es parla en la solitud
dels meus morts que riuen d'estar sempre junts,
he mirat aquesta terra,
he mirat aquesta terra.

Mentre m'envelleixo en el llarg esforç
de passar la rella damunt els records,
he mirat aquesta terra,
he mirat aquesta terra.

Quan l'estiu ajaça per tot l'adormit
camp l'ample silenci que estenen els grills,
 he mirat aquesta terra,
 he mirat aquesta terra.

Mentre comprenien savis dits de cec
com l'hivern despulla la son dels sarments,
he mirat aquesta terra,
 he mirat aquesta terra.

Quan la desbocada força dels cavalls
de l'aiguat de sobte baixa pels rials,
 he mirat aquesta terra,
 he mirat aquesta terra.

Salvador Espriu

Indesinenter...

27 & 28, 'EN AQUEST NADAL, LLIÇÓ D’UN VELL PROFETA'

A Montserrat Roig

 (June 13, 1946-November 10, 1991) 

 
Uns tristos mots que sap si portaran
vestigis d'alegria a la tristesa:
davallades cisternes del temps,
esglaons del meu fred fins al ulls del no-res.

Amb vana agitació els qui són del tot morts
feien esperançadament que aquell incert demà
m'esdevingués la sang d'ahir, vergonya avui.

Aleshores sentia cada hivern la bona olor
humida de la molsa estesa sota l'ombra
de galzeran i bruc, arbres d'un petit món
glaçat per sempre, immòbil ben endintre dels pous.

Però ara sóc al carrer, a la dura ciutat,
sol entre la multitud que d'esma va dient
paraules allunyades d'una promesa pau,
i jo escolto i miro i cerco, i no hi ha pau enlloc.

Salvador Espriu

25 & 26, 'M'HA DEMANAT QUE PARLI DE LA MEVA EUROPA'

Jo sóc d'una petita terra
sense rius de debò, sovint assedegada de pluja,
pobra d'arbres, gairebé privada de boscos,
escassa de planures, excessiva de muntanyes,
estesa per llevant al llarg de la vella mar
que atansa el difícil i sangonós diàleg
de tres continents.

Unes palmeres que amb els ulls closos
miro sempre immòbils sota l'oreig
tanquen el meu país pel migjorn.

Pel nord, unes maresmes. I a posta de sol
hi ha unes altres terres que anuncien el desert,
les nobles, agostades, espirituals terres germanes
que jo estimo tant.

Alts cims trenquen la meva pàtria en dos Estats,
però una mateixa llengua és encara
parlada a banda i banda,
i en unes clares illes endinsades en el mar antic,
i en una contrada també insular, més llunyana,
que avui pertany a un tercer poder.

Que diversa la meva petita terra
i com ha hagut de sofrir, durant segles i mil·lenaris,
la violència de diversos pobles,
les aspres guerres civils enceses dintre el seus límits
i més enllà del palmerar i els aiguamolls,
de la seca altiplanura i de les ones!

Perquè prou sap el nostre llarg dolor
que qualsevol guerra desvetllada entre els homes,
la més estranya o grandiosa lluita
que s'abrandi entre els homes,
és tan sols una guerra civil
i ens porta a tots patiment i tristesa,
la destrucció i la mort.

Per això ara és tan profunda la nostra esperança
-en el meu somni, ja contemplada realitat-
d’integrar-nos, en un temps que sentim proper,
salvades la nostra llengua i la nostra història,
en una unitat superior que duu el nom,
obert, bellíssim, d'aquella filla d'Agenor
que un savi esguard veia prodigiosament passar
de la costa fenícia a les platges de Creta.

Quan arribi el dia, haurem fet el primer
i inesborrable pas vers la suprema
unió i igualtat entre tots els homes.

I potser aleshores ens serà permès de començar,
sense classes socials, ni odis religiosos,
ni diferències cruels i injustes pel color de la pell,
la nostra peregrinació a través de l'espai,
cap a la pensada llum,
i de seguir sense temença les misterioses
vies interiors de Déu, del no-res,
els infinits i lliures i alhora
necessaris camins veritables de la bondat.

Que no sigui decebuda la nostra esperança,
que no sigui escarnida la nostra confiança:
així molt humilment ho demanen.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 23 & 24, 'NÈNIA'

Per Bartomeu Rosselló-Pòrcel. Trenta anys després de la seva mort.

Cants de galls esquinçaven,
des d'una llunyania
d'incerts llums tremolosos,
els palaus de l'aranya,
l'estesa nit. Venia
a poc a poc aquella
buidor tan despullada
de la pluja. Peus d’arbres
penitents trepitjaven,
en processó parada,
antics luxes de boscos
recordats. Lentes boques
fressaven sense pausa,
malson endins. Nosaltres
et miràvem encara,
dura sofrença closa
en el no-res, i et dúiem,
sota feixugues voltes
del després, enllà d'amples,
cruels, llarguíssims cercles
de temps mort, a l'estança
on ulls de fred et guarden.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 21 & 22, 'ALTÍSSIM'

Que Déu us doni sempre la seva llum. Jo, l'Altíssim, cec d'aquesta parròquia de Sinera, tinc missió de convocar nens i crescuts, no a la «Sala Mercè», ara de magna esbaldida, que tant li convenia, sinó al jardí dels cinc arbres, sota el roser de la pell leprosa, la troana, la camèlia, el libanenc i la palmera gànguil, avui, una tarda d'estiu, sense cap núvol al cel, segons quedo notificat per la xerra caritativa de la Neua. Mossèn Silví Saperes, el nostre propi senyor ecònom, us convida als putxinel·lis de Salom, a mirar i aprendre la bíblica i vera història de la bona reina Esther. Veniu, amb la quitxalla, vilatans, patricis, homes, dones compatricis! Les hores s'afeixuguen, hi ha molta calma a mar, xisclen pels rials les orenetes. On trobareu més divertiment i més amable aire, per un preu, diguem la suposició, quasi de franc? Promès, ho deixo al fibló de cada consciència: que la voluntat fixi l'entrada. Rotlleu-vos, doncs, a pler, entorn del petit teatre. Feu via, que ja el rei s’emprova la corona del seu càrrec, el gran rei, a Susa, lluny d'aquí, prop d'aquí, potser davant aquests mateixos nassos. Els ninots parlaran i ballaran, moguts per la misteriosa traça de l'Eleuteri, el fill de la Marieta, el noi de la casa del costat, que un dia s'escolarà, com sabeu, sense temps ni d'un badall, les cames ben tallades, arreplegat per una màquina. Però avui Salom li encarrega encara de comandar la bellugor dels seus titelles. Procureu de distreure-us una estona i oblidar-vos de tot el mal que ens ha de succeir. Després, quan el sol s'hagi post i l’Hereu Quiliè camini contra la fosca de Sinera amb la canya d'encendre els fanals, anireu xano-xano a sopar i a esperar la son i la gràcia d'un nou matí, per a qui arribi. I prego al selecte d'amainar gatzara, car la representació comença. Estàs a punt, rei de Pèrsia?

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 19 & 20, 'LES ROQUES I EL MAR, EL BLAU'

Els orígens

"Tot plegat, el que veiem i el que se'ns amaga, va començar, si és que va començar, d’una manera molt confusa", va dir Arístocles al seu fill Euforió, prou jove per interessar-se encara per tota mena de coses i fenòmens. "El més gran dels poetes assegura que tots els déus varen néixer de l'Oceà i de la seva dona Tetis. Si això és encertat, el primer element fóra l'aigua, i mira, doncs, si som assenyats de ser pescadors. Hesíode, però, que no oblidem que era beoci, i a més pagès, i per torna capficat a pledejar contra un germà seu, esmenta el Caos abans de tot i l'imagina, sembla,com un espai il·limitat, obert i buit. Gea, la matèria terrestre, de sina fecunda, va sorgir després i, abans de prendre una més clara forma, qui sap si va emplenar la mencionada buidor i va ser alhora omplerta per ella. Incomodíssims, el Caos i Gea es barallaven sense pausa. El també primordial però més tardà Eros es va encarregar de bona fe del matrimoni, va dominar de moment, per persuasió, la doble violència, tan rude, amb la qual s'encarava i va procurar, en assuavir-la, de neutralitzar-la per sempre, amb savis consells. Del Caos, tal vegada quan era solitari, sortien l’Èrebos i la Nit, principis mascle i femella de la foscor. Eros va aconseguir amb mònita que les tenebres, ben avingudes i barrejades, engendressin, com per distret miracle, una parella lluminosa, l'Èter i Hèmera. De tota aquesta mescla i d'altres posteriors i sovint incestuoses, unes mescles que no entenc ni poc ni molt, va ser lentament creada, diuen, una munió d'altres divinitats. Per la meva pròpia reflexió he deduït, tanmateix, que la Moira, sorda, cega, inexorable i tranquil·la, va precedir el Caos i li va imposar la seva essència, que és la Llei. No hi ha res per damunt o al marge de la Llei i de les lleis, fixa-t'hi. Però definir-la i definir-les és un esforç tan per sobre de la neva raó, que la intel·ligència i la veu acaten i emmudeixen. Només t'afegiré, i no improviso el precepte, que tots som esclaus de la llei, perquè puguem ser lliures." I Arístocles, cloent de sobte la seva tan indocumentada, incoherent, embussada, embullada, dispersa i ximple peroració, es va quedar de seguida tan assossegat i quiet com la gallina després de pondre l’ou.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 17 & 18, 'EL SOTJADOR'

Mentre el temporal fa moure
galls i trincoles com en un viàtic
d'apareguts, un noi covard mira
com s'atansa el Capità Holandès
i diu, amb una veu clarament
esgarrifosa:

―Només un rostre en la tenebra.

A tots els ports on fujo
―nau contra vent― m'espera
aquest poder vastíssim
que no té nom.

Un ull sense parpella
sotjant-me
en nit dintre tenebra.

Esguard de glaç, lluita del fi de l'ànima
muda, subtil: dolor en la tenebra
senyorejada per l'esglai del rostre
únic, innúmer.

Quan faràs orb, al fons de la tenebra,
el sotjador immòbil?

Els rellotges del mar, com tocarien
pel vell company de l'odi!

Lentes hores del mar ressonarien
pels morts de les fondàries.

Les campanes del mar saludarien
el retorn de la barca.

Ai, alba, tan llunyana
cançó, inassolible
repòs, quan sempre sotja
el rostre d'ull innúmer,
únic, immens, parat, sense parpella!

Un rostre etern, un ull, només un rostre
en nit dintre tenebra.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 15 & 16, 'CANÇÓ D'ALBADA'

Desperta, és un nou dia,
la llum
del sol llevant, vell guia
pels quiets camins de fum.

No deixis res
per caminar i mirar fins al ponent.

Car tot, en un moment,
et serà pres.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 13 & 14, 'INICI DE CÀNTIC EN EL TEMPLE'

Ara digueu:

La ginesta floreix,
arreu als camps hi ha vermell de roselles.
Amb nova falç, comencem a segar
el blat madur, i amb ell, les males herbes.

Ah! Joves llavis desclosos després de la foscor,

si sabíeu com l'alba ens ha trigat,

com és llarg d'esperar

un alçament de llum en la tenebra.

Però hem viscut per a salvar-vos els mots,

per retornar-vos el nom de cada cosa,

perquè seguíssiu el recte camí

d'accés al ple domini de la terra.

Vàrem mirar ben al lluny del desert,

davallàrem al fons del nostre somni.

Cisternes seques esdevenen cims,

pujats per esglaons de lentes hores.

Ara digueu:

Nosaltres escoltem les veus del vent

per l'alta mar d'espigues.

Ara digueu:

Ens mantindrem fidels per sempre més
al servei d'aquest poble.

 

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 11 & 12, 'FINAL DEL LABERINT'

XXX

L'aire resplendent
arrela en el plany.

Ales de la sang
drecen a claror.

De la llum a la fosca,
de la nit a la neu,
sofrença, camí,
paraules, destí,
per la terra, per l'aigua,
pel foc i pel vent.

Salvo el meu maligne
nombre en la unitat.

Enllà de contraris
veig identitat.

Sol, sense missatge,
deslliurat del pes
del temps, d'esperances,
dels morts,
dels records,
dic en el silenci
el nom del no-res.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 9 & 10, 'PERQUE UN DIA TORNI LA CANÇÓ A SINERA'

El meu somni lent
de la gran pau blanca
sota el cel clement.

Passo pels camins
encalmats que porten
la claror dels cims.

És un temps parat
a les vinyes altes,
per damunt del mar.

He parat el temps
i records que estimo
guardo de l'hivern.

Però tu riuràs,
car veus com es tanquen
llavis catalans.

I es baden al sol
boques de captaires,
plagues de leprós.

Ningú no ha comprès
el que jo volia
que de mi es salvés.

Mai no ha entès ningú
per què sempre parlo
del meu món perdut.

Les paraules són
forques d'on a trossos
penjo la raó.

Branden a ple vent
cordes que no poden
suportar més pes.

El càntic és lluny,
i la greu campana
toca pels difunts.

Ha cessat el ball
de l'altiva monja
i de l'embriac.

La dansa també
del pelut dimoni
amb la reina Esther.

Ja no volta l'ós.

He llegit el llibre
del Predicador.

Deso a poc a poc
dintre de la capsa
tots els meus ninots.

Ara he de callar,
que no tinc prou força
contra tant de mal.

D'un mal tan antic
aquesta veu feble
no et sabrà guarir.

En un estrany buit,
manen el silenci
i la solitud.

Sols queden uns noms:
arbre, casa, terra,
gleva, dona, solc.

Només fràgils mots
de la meva llengua,
arrel i llavor.

La mar, el vell pi,
pressentida barca,
La por de morir.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 7 & 8, 'LA PELL DE BRAU'

[XXX]

Diversos són els homes i diverses les parles,
i han convingut molts noms a un sol amor.

La vella i fràgil plata esdevé tarda
parada en la claror damunt els camps.
La terra, amb paranys de mil fines orelles,
ha captivat els ocells de les cançons de l'aire.

Sí, comprèn-la i fes-la teva, també,
des de les oliveres,
l'alta i senzilla veritat de la presa veu del vent:
"Diverses són les parles i diversos els homes,
i convindran molts noms a un sol amor."

[XXXVIII]

No convé que diguem el nom
del qui ens pensa enllà de la nostra por.

Si topem a les palpentes
amb aquest estrany cec,
on sinó en el buit i en el no-res
fonamentarem la nostra vida?

Provarem d'alçar en la sorra
el palau perillós dels nostres somnis
i aprendrem aquesta lliçó humil
al llarg de tot el temps del cansament,
car sols així som lliures de combatre
per l'última victòria damunt l'esglai.

Escolta, Sepharad: els homes no poden ser
si no són lliures.

Que sàpiga Sepharad que no podrem mai ser
si no som lliures.

I cridi la veu de tot el poble: "Amén."

[XLVI]

A vegades és necessari i forçós
que un home mori per un poble,
però mai no ha de morir tot un poble
per un home sol:
recorda sempre això, Sepharad.

Fes que siguin segurs els ponts del diàleg
i mira de comprendre i estimar
les raons i les parles diverses dels teus fills.

Que la pluja caigui a poc a poc en els sembrats
i l'aire passi com una estesa mà
suau i molt benigna damunt els amples camps.

Que Sepharad visqui eternament
en l'ordre i en la pau, en el treball,
en la difícil i merescuda
llibertat.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 5 & 6, 'L'ONZE DE SETEMBRE DE 1714'

Almenys ens han deixat
L’honor de caure sols.
En la desesperança,
Acceptem la foscor.

Demà retornarem
Al treball, a l’esforç.
Dreçats, hem de cavar
Als bancals de la por.

Aprofundim rars pous
Als orbs ulls de la mort.
Enllà d’aigües llotoses,
Terra bona, llavor.

Salvador Espriu

DAYS 3 & 4, 'PERQUÈ L'ENTONIS AMB COMPASSIU AMOR'

Que no sigui, però, la cançó de l'odi,
nascuda de la injusta i llarga humiliació.

Ara em despengen uns dits piadosos
de les forques senyorials de la paraula,
i cau a poc a poc la clara pluja
en aquesta terra nostra de pobres sembrats.

Oblido dolçament les ones i les hores,
i la por de morir m'esdevé una tranquil.la
mirada de caminant molt cansat a la porta
de l'hostal silenciós i càlid de la nit.

Enllà quedava la remor de les amples aigües,
em criden al repòs del profund desert,
el meu maligne nombre se salva en la unitat.

Salvador Espriu