Every culture has a way of showing love towards their loved ones. In the United States, as well as in other places in the world, because this tradition has become standardized in other locations, Saint Valentine’s Day is celebrated. However, there are other populations that have their own version of the idea.

April 23, is a day that is marked in the calendar and expected throughout Catalonia. It is a day dedicated only to love. It is customary for men to give a rose to women they love, whether this be their partner, sisters or mothers. On the other hand, women traditionally give a book to their beloved men. Over the years there have been minor modifications to this tradition, as not only do men recieve books as a gift but they are no longer dependent on gender and everyone can get one from someone. Another thing that has changed is the colors of the roses, since, as tradition says, the donated roses must be red. Now there are many colors to choose from, depending on the taste of each person. 

There are also many vendors selling a variety of things on the street during this time. All stalls sell roses in their own way and original handmade bookmarks. Although some stalls take advantage of that day to sell handmade things, also all bookstores come out with stalls and sell the news that is on the market with many occasions varied for all tastes.

This tradition has a legend as well. It is said that there was a town where they were very happy until the day a dragon arrived. That dragon was very hungry, so he was fed every day with cattle. One day the cattle were gone and the king of that town had to make a drastic decision to solve the problem and save all of the town from being destroyed. A draw would be made with the name of all the inhabitants of that town. The name said would be chosen to feed the dragon as food. The name chosen to be the next meal of the dragon was the princess. When they delivered her to the dragon, a brave knight appeared and fought the dragon to save the princess from being devoured by that beast. That knight killed the dragon, and from the blood that was shed, a rose was grown.The knight gave that rose to the princess as a sign of love for her. From this story comes the tradition of giving a rose to a person you love. It represents the love of that knight to slay the dangerous dragon to save the princess.