Saint George's Day is celebrated on April 23. On this day in Catalonia, an autonomous region in northeast Spain, there is a festival that celebrates the Day of Books and the Roses, which are symbols of culture and love, and the free circulation of ideas and their projection to future generations. It is also a day that celebrates Catalan culture and also, through the wheat crop, the efforts of a whole people. It is the day of lovers, and that is why since the 15th century it has been customary to give a red rose "like the blood of the dragon" to the beloved. In the 1930s the custom of giving a book back, on the occasion of the day of the book, was added. The earliest patronage of Saint George begins around the year 1096 when, according to legend, King Peter I of Aragon won the Battle of Alcoraz. At some point afterward the king was declared the patron saint of Catalonia. The core of the April 23rd commemoration focuses mainly on the legend of Saint George slaying a dragon to save a princess (see: Saint George and the Dragon). From Wikipedia
