It’s all happening today.

Firstly, it’s St. George’s Day, who is the patron saint of England, and of Catalonia and Aragon in Spain (and of a host of other European countries, it appears that slaying dragons really scores you a lot of points: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Day).

And as if that weren’t enough, since 1995 the 23rd of April has been World Book and Copyright Day (as proclaimed by UNESCO). The date was chosen because three great writers died on 23rd April 1616: William Shakespeare (who was also born on 23rd April), Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. However, UNESCO can’t claim the idea was originally theirs. Giving a rose away with every book sold on the 23rd of April has long been a tradition in Catalonia. This date has been Book Day in Spain since 1930 and in 1964 it officially became Book Day for all Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries.

All book lovers at Route 66 Language School can get their fix at the 41st annual Valencia Book Fair which is on until 2nd May in the Jardines de Viveros.  Among the many activities and exhibitions on offer, visitors can get books signed by their authors and attend readings and workshops.

For the full programme of events, check out the Book Fair website: http://www.firallibre.com

The great explosion having been avoided, the British use it as an excuse for annual parties, lighting bonfires (the night of 5 November is called Bonfire Night) and burning effigies of the plotters (the straw and fabric figures known as “Guys”, named after the most famous of the conspirators) and firework displays.

If you’re interested in finding out more about this British custom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Plot
Or, for something a bit more fun, a video explaining the history of the events: