Barcelona, when love is in the air!
February 13th, 2007Tomorrow is the day when LOVE is in the air! Who hasn´t heard of SAINT VALENTINE´S DAY! This is the day for declaring your love to the ones you really care about, whether or not you disclose your identity is up to you!
It is quite curious that so many people around the world know about this special day, originally to honour the saint called Valentine who unknowingly became the patron saint of couples in love! According to the legend, when the Christian religion was persecuted, he secretly married couples under Church ritual. It didn´t take long for the shops to make the most of the romantic concept of St. Valentine´s day, offering chocolate hearts, cute red cards to send to your ’special friend’ and heart shaped pillows. Well, every object you could ever need to show your affection can be found in every store in town!
Here in Barcelona they actually also celebrate their own St. Valentine´s day called ‘Saint Jordi´s day’, on 23rd April. In Barcelona and throughout all of Catalonia, Sant Jordi’s day erupts joyfully when the warm spring air fills you with energy and lovers are everywhere. During this traditional Rose Festival, celebrated in Barcelona since the Middle Ages to honour chivalry and romantic love, the downtown streets are full of colours, thanks to all the small book and rose stands that are put up in the city centre.
In 1923, the lovers’ fest merged with International Book Day to mark the anniversary of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare several hundred years ago. Over four million roses and half a million books are sold in Catalonia on Saint Jordi’s Day. During this day the men give their loved ones red roses and the ladies give books in return. I remember last year being given a rose by this guy who i’d never even met before!! I felt very special until I realised that everyone else had one too!!
For those who don´t want to wait until April to celebrate your love, you will have your opportunity tomorrow.
Or maybe you have not thought of the romantic side of Barcelona?
Passing by Las Ramblas you can buy some beautiful roses and then continue to the harbour or old port, where you can take a romantic stroll. What about spending the evening looking out to sea underneath the stars? Or maybe having a coffee or glass of wine in a cosy square in the heart of the city, such as ‘Casc Antic’, while listening to the musicians playing romantic songs in the background?! If you prefer, you can take your partner high up to share a panoramic view from the hillsides that surround Barcelona, during the evening when the city is lit up with millions of lights.
Well, there are plenty of options, and it is just a case of picking which one you prefer!
Have a great Valentine´s day tomorrow!
/ Elin
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Festivities, General Barcelona, Other, Things to do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
