#BooksAndRoses is a project and a hashtag created to take an ancient tradition to the world, so that everybody can celebrate literature with a smile.

23 April is the day when books, roses and love come together in the context of an ancient tradition celebrated in Barcelona / Catalonia that is going global: 130

international events, 102 cities, 42 countries in 2015.

It all started with the legend of a sainted knight, a princess and a dragon. In the 15th century giving a rose to the women you love on 23 April (Sant Jordi) became a tradition in Catalonia. In the 1920s giving a book to the men you love was added.

World BookCopyright Day.

and

A “symbolic date for world literature” because it is also the date of birth or death of many writers, i.e. William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Maurice Druon, Haldor K. Laxness, Ngaio Marsh, Vladimir Nabokov, Victoria Glendinning, Josep Pla, Teresa de la Parra, P. L. Travers or Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

Celebrate 23 April and do so by putting smiles on peoples’ faces! Combining World Book and Copyright Day with #BooksAndRoses is a wonderful and simple way of paying tribute to books, literature, writers and the great pleasure of reading in general. Many bookshops (big and small) as well as libraries in many countries have already added the spirit of #BooksAndRoses to their local celebrations.

Tradition has come a long way and nowadays it is books and roses for everybody. At some point a group that included some Catalan publishers

approached UNESCO and in 1995 the date 23 April was proclaimed

15th

century 1920s

Why and how to join#BooksAndRoses?

What is #BooksAndRoses?

Catalonia