简体中文
St George's Day usually sees the streets of Barcelona filled with parades of people exchanging books and flowers with their loved ones. But this year, it was marked with a twist amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With Catalans confined to their homes under a strict lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus, this year's St George's Day, coinciding with World Book Day, looks very different, leaving the city deserted.
"It's a very tough situation, emotionally, and also culturally and economically," Maria Marin, the spokesperson for Catalonia's Bookseller Guild, told Xinhua.
In 2019, Guild registered a 22-million-euro turnover on St George's Day alone, Marin said.
But despite the restrictions not allowing people to take to the streets, Catalans are exploring new ways to mark St George's Day day in tribute to the city's patron saint.
People are hanging roses from their balconies and authors holding online book-sharing and signings.
In hospitals, including Vall d'Hebron and Hospital Clinic, health staff and patients are exchanging books and roses.
At Hospital Clinic, one of Barcelona's largest hospital attending most coronavirus patients, books and roses are also being delivered in a tribute to medical personnel combatting the virus.
"I thank you for the delivery of this book and I thank you for all the support, because they are recognizing the work we do every day, which is very important," a nurse assistant at Hospital Clinic said, holding the book tightly in his arms.
Nevertheless, Catalans will have the opportunity to celebrate St George's day as per tradition, at a later date.
The Bookseller Guild said depending on how the health crisis develops, the event will be postponed to the end of July, or October.