Once
upon a time, a terrible dragon terrorized the inhabitants of a small village in
Catalonia. The dragon crated chaos among the population, consuming the animals until
there were none left out on the pasture.
To
calm the dragon's anger, the inhabitants of the village decided to sacrifice
one person every day, chosen by drawing lots. Each day a person was provided to
the dragon as a sign of people’s good will.
However,
one dark day, the person chosen to be sacrificed was the king's daughter. Just
when she was about to be swallowed up by the dragon, a courageous knight
appeared and confronted the evil beast. This was Saint George. He thrust his
lance into the dragon. Out of the blood that spurted forth grew a red rose
bush. Since then, it has been the custom in Catalonia to present a rose to a
loved one.
Saint
George, the patron saint of Catalonia, as well as England and other countries,
became the symbol of Catalonia during the Renaixença, a nineteenth century
political and cultural movement that sought to reclaim the symbols of Catalan
identity.
Sculpture of Saint George
