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[title]You could hear the collective gasp across Catalonia when the Catalan government announced the postponement of one of the most celebrated and beloved springtime festivals in the land. It was made official in mid-March, just as the state of alarm was set in motion with confinement throughout Spain. Comments like ‘If Sant Jordi is postponed, this is going to be a long one’ were flying about social media networks.
At last, the guilds of booksellers and florists, who are behind this festival of literature and roses, reached an agreement to set an alternative date of July 23. The goal of the two entities was to celebrate Saint George’s feast day as Catalans know and love it, with book stands lining the streets, roses for sale on every corner, and authors greeting fans and signing books for them – all before the traditional summer holidays start in August. All that brought them to choose the penultimate Thursday of July.
Alternatives to celebrate Sant Jordi on April 23
Although we now have an alternative date on the table, the book sector as well as florists want to do all they can to help anyone who cannot bear the thought of Sant Jordi held on any other day than April 23 to celebrate as best they can. The florists’ guild are promoting the #RosadeSantJordiaCasa campaign, which brings together those florists in Catalonia that offer home delivery service of roses on April 23.
Also out to save the day, the booksellers’ guild comes through with its #sinparadasperosinparar campaign, where you can still buy books online even though they can’t be collected until we’re all back out on the streets once again. Bookshops also encourage everyone to continue buying books through various campaigns, such as ‘Llibreries Obertes’ (Open Bookshops, website in Catalan), where you can buy books and pick them up from the bookshops when they open their doors to the public again.