The April 23 is celebrated World Book and Copyright Daycelebrated on this date on the basis of Book Festival in Cataloniawhich since the 1930s has occurred on April 23, the date chosen because two great names in world literature died on this day, Cervantes and Shakespeare.
This is also the day of Sant Jordi – Saint George – patron saint of Catalonia and the city of Barcelona. Precisely for this reason, the traditional custom of celebrating Sant Jordi – exchanging roses – overlaps with those that celebrate books and culture. Thus was born the custom of give a book as a gift to your loved one, and receive one in return rose.
A knight, a dragon and a princess: the original legend
Sant Jordior Saint George, Christian martyr, is the patron saint of the Spanish region of Catalonia and the city of Barcelona: on April 23, Diada de Sant Jordi – Feast of St. George – the whole city is celebrating.
The legend in the “Spanish version” says that Saint George killed the dragon which terrified her Catalan city of Montblancwhile other versions see the dragon killed in Libya, or in other countries. Tradition has it that in the place where the dragon fell a was born rose gardenand the saved princess wrote a poem to reciprocate the heroic gesture.
In the 1456 Sant Jordi officially became the patron saint of Catalonia and, on the occasion of the celebration, the city was filled with rose stalls, to remember the killing of the dragon. The rose and flower fair was particularly frequented by engaged couples about to get married, which is why it also began to be associated with love.
Cervantes and Shakespeare: how the link between roses and books was born
In the 1920s, the writer Vincent Clavel i Andrés, director of the Cervantes publishing house, proposed to the Official Chamber of the Book of Barcelona and to the Corporation of Publishers and Booksellers of Barcelona to organize a party to promote reading and the Catalan language and culture.
Initially, the date of 7 October was chosen, and the first Book Festival was in 1927. When Barcelona hosted the universal exhibition in 1929, booksellers filled the streets with book stalls: on this occasion the idea was born to change the date from 7 October to April 23 which, in addition to being the day of the patron saint Sant Jordi, is also the date of death shared by the greats of world reading, Miguel de Cervantes – author of the exploits of Don Quixote (first published in 1605) – e William Shakespeare (lived between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century).
The first “new” Book Day in Catalonia was therefore celebrated on 23 April 1931: on this day the custom was born give a book to your loved one And receive a rose in return. This tradition was then also adopted by booksellerswho donate a rose to anyone who buys a book on April 23rd.
The establishment of World Book and Copyright Day on April 23
Starting in 1996, theUNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has made official the World Book and Copyright Day on date April 23.
This day was chosen precisely on the basis of Catalan tradition, “marrying” the motivation of the date of death of Cervantes and Shakespeare: for this reason it is also called “Book and Rose Day”. The aim of the day is to encourage readingsupport thepublishing industry and protect intellectual property through copyright.
On April 23, initiatives and celebrations are organized all over the world and, every year, one is also chosen World Book Capitalwhich in 2026 is Rabatin Morocco.
