April 23 brings together two important holidays in Spain’s northeast region of Catalonia: World Book Day and St. George’s Day, or, La Diada de Sant Jordi in the regional language of Catalan. Entire towns and cities fill with hundreds of stalls selling roses and books, since the tradition calls for an exchange of a book and a rose between loved ones, family members and friends. It’s one of the most-anticipated dates of the year and as The World’s Lucia Benavides reports from Barcelona, that’s especially true after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
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