In order to celebrate our first Saint George in this blog, we would like to explain you a little bit about this beautiful tradition of Catalonia. We hope you like it.

“The women receive a rose of her dear one and they are rewarded by a book. It is usual to give the rose to all those persons that you love

The tradition of the book is simple to explain; on this day there is commemorated the death of two big writers of the History of the Literature: M. of Cervantes and W. Shakespeare.

This date is declared by the UNESCO the day of the book. The history of the rose, is more complex, but it is surrounded by a halo of romanticism that they make it special.

Everything is born from a medieval legend:

There was once a monster that was living in a lake next to a small city. His presence had the whole population frightened and his breath was coming up to the interior of the walled enclosure. To avoid his ire and not to tempt his ferocity, the citizens had to take to him everyday a sheep.

But the sheep were ended and the cruel animal the whole population was threatening to attack and triumph.

Because of it the king decided that there were going to deliver him persons.

He ordered that all the parents should give him their children, one for one, to the beast; following a system of random; but for this system, the daughter of the king was touched one day.

He, abundance of sorrow, said to the citizens that it would distribute all his goods if the princess was excused of her sure death. The people did not want it, even they threatened to burn the royal palace, and because of it she accepted and freed his daughter to the beast.

When the princess already had done great alone part of the way, a gentleman passed there on a great white steed. He, seeing the disconsolate maiden asked what was happening to her. She explained it and, when he noticed that the dragoon was approaching where they were, the gentleman took the lance and faced the cruel beast.

Saint George, who was the gentleman, hurt seriously the beast, tied her with the ceidor of the princess and they it walked along the whole city as a defenceless dog to demonstrate that he was defeated.

Finally, the gentleman fixed to him strongly the lance and killed it definitively. Of his blood, there was born the most beautiful rose-bush, of which he cut the most beautiful rose to be delivered to the lady.

Of here the tradition of the rose is born as present of the day of Saint George.”

Madanis Team

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