Celebration of St George's Day at Borough Market

As you may already know, Sant Jordi / St. George’s Day is celebrated both in England and Catalonia. In recognition of this, the Catalan Government and the Catalan community in London team up again with Borough Market to celebrate this multicultural festivity. The day will bring together the best Catalan and English food in a special celebration including music and dance.

St George’s Day: the Catalan day of love and culture
The romantic Catalan custom of exchanging roses and books with their loved ones will be one of the attractions of the Catalan stand at Borough Market. The idea could not be simpler: traditionally men offered roses to women and in exchange for the flowers the women gave books as gifts. Nowadays, both men and women exchange books and roses. This ritual has now become so popular with all generations that 7 million roses and 1.7 million books were sold in Catalonia last year on Sant Jordi's Day.

The Catalan way to celebrate Saint George’s Day inspired the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1995 when it adopted the 23rd of April as World Book and Copyright Day. 23rd April also marks the anniversary of the deaths of Shakespeare and Cervantes.

Books could not be missed at this festivity! Once again, Riverside Bookshop and Institut Ramon Llull will bring a book stall to the market, including some of the most important English translations of Catalan literature. In parallel, there will be a rich cultural programme, with the support of ICEC/CatalanArts! and the Catalan community in the United Kingdom: you’ll get a taste of sardanes dancers –a type of circle dance typical of Catalonia– and performances by the guitarist Maria Camahort and soprano Laura Ruhí, the singer Pau Alabajos and the London Catalan Choir, among others.

And to complete the celebration, we would also recommend attending the Sant Jordi Concert on Wednesday the 23rd of April at The Forge in Camden Town where Clara Sanabras pre-launches her new album “Songs of Spanish Exile” and the Cava Day –a Cava Tasting Evening– on Friday 25th at Hispania Restaurant (just outside Bank tube station).

Josep Suàrez, Head of the Delegation of the Catalan Government to the United Kingdom and Ireland said:

“Catalonia and England will join forces to celebrate together their common patron St George. Next 27th April Borough Market becomes a meeting point to make Catalan culture and tradition known among English society. I hope you will enjoy with us a romantic day when both men and women exchange books and roses!”

Keith Davis, Managing Director of Borough Market said:

“We are looking forward to throwing open Borough Market’s doors for our annual celebration of St. George’s Day. This very special event reflects our heritage in celebrating the feast St. George and it is the perfect way for people to come together to eat, relax and enjoy this multi-cultural celebration. We look forward to seeing you there!”