A ROMANTIC MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANT IN MAYFAIR
Here’s a neat trick for the romantically inclined. Rather than joining the crowds of couples flocking to restaurants on February 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you could do what the Catalonians do and wait for the real romance of the Sant Jordi Festival in April.
Couples Flock to Restaurants on February 14 to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
Sant Jordi – or Saint George to you and me – is the patron saint of Catalonia and Aragon, on St George’s Day in Catalonia a tradition stretching as far back as the Middle Ages has been for men to give roses to their lovers.
St George may be the patron saint of England too, but the dragon he slew had been terrorising the town of Montblanc – about an hour from Barcelona. Villagers were about to sacrifice a princess to the dragon, when Sant Jordi turned up on a white horse and killed it. From the blood shed by the dragon a rosebush appeared, and Sant Jordi gave a rose to the princess – hence the tradition.
SANT JORDI DAY INCLUDES MANY CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
In 1926, a Valencian journalist who lived in Barcelona came up with an idea that made St George’s Day the International Day of the Book. And women presented with roses began giving their men books, another tradition that has continued since 1930.
Valentine’s Day Romantic Dining
Sant Jordi Day includes many cultural activities for children as well as for adults. Authors sign books at book stalls as well as in book shops and libraries, and sometimes give live readings of their works. Food shops get involved too, producing the popular Pa de Sant Jordi, a bread made with cured sausage and cheese representing the colours of the Catlan flag.
So, if you want to give the over-commercialised Valentine’s Day a miss, pop down to El Pirata, Mayfair’s neighbourhood tapas bar, where – with a little luck – roses will be provided.
