Saint George is the Patron Saint of Catalonia.
But it is also of Aragon, England, Greece, and Portugal, among other lands. The noble and brave knight is painted by legend: an important martyr of the first centuries of Christianity, according to tradition.
We know nothing historically about the knight George: historians have found no other than the accounts that have been circulating about him since before the Crusades. The knights who went to the Holy Land returned with the story of the fame he achieved by freeing a maiden from being devoured by a dragon.
By the 7th century, the legend of St. George had reached the West from the East, where he was born, lived, and martyred.
St. George, it is said, in killing the dragon, not only liberated the maiden, but the city, which the dragon had besieged and infested.
He alone killed her. This made it even more legendary, and those who have dealt with it say that we, too, must kill the dragon of selfishness, misunderstanding, injustice, and baseness.
This nobility pleased our medieval warriors, who launched themselves into battle shouting: “Saint George, Saint George! ». Our great chroniclers tell us.
In the time to come, the knights gathered in brotherhoods under the auspices of St. George, towns and places took this name, and the saint became more and more popular.
April 23rd is a national holiday in Catalonia, and we dedicate this day to the spirit: we offer roses and books.
