Valentine's Day in Spain

Valentine’s Day in Spain! Sort of. El Día de Sant Jordi, the 23rd of April, is known for its beauty. Sant Jordi (Saint George) is that patron saint of Catalonia because of his martyrdom for his Christina religion. But the legend is really what the holiday is about-it’s classic: There’s a princess trapped and guarded by a fierce dragon. Prince Sant Jordi comes along on horseback and slays the dragon, and a red rose bush blooms where the dragon’s blood spilled onto the ground below. Sant Jordi plucks a red rose off and gives it to the princess, saving her life. How chivalrous! *Dartmouth boys take the hint! Let’s bring some of this European chivalry back to the states…please! Anyway, its tradition that the men give roses (red is traditional, but they come in all sorts of colors) to their lovers, or mothers, and then the women give the guys a book. It’s a combination of Valentine’s Day and like World Book Day or something. I bought a red rose for my host madre and a book for my host padre. I had no idea what type of book my padre would want, and after looking a while I decided on a Ken Follett historical fiction book about WWI. Ken Follett seemed legit, and dad’s like history, right? It was really cute because when I gave them their gifts, their sons were over at our house with flowers for my host mom. The sons confirmed the legitimacy of Ken Follett to my padre, and he proceeded to thank me for choosing a good book. Ha. It was also a nice touch that all the guys in the Dartmouth group bought us red roses, and in return we all bought them The Little Prince book. How adorable.