Sant Jordi

In Sant Jordi, April 23rd, it's usual that men in Catalonia buy roses for their loved ones...

... and women buy a book for their loved ones

...bookstores take the books to the streets...

... and there's music and sardanas also

Sardana is played by a 'cobla', a band consisting of ten wind instruments, a bass and a tamborí (very small drum)

The cobla has five woodwind instruments: the flabiol which is a small fipple flute, and the tenora and tible (two of each) which belong to the oboe family. These and the tamborí are typical Catalan instruments. The brass instruments include: two trumpets, two fiscorns (a type of saxhorn created by Adolph Sax during the 19th century), and a trombone (usually a valve trombone). The double bass was traditionally a three-stringed one, but now the part is usually written for and played on the modern (four-stringed) instrument.

As a relatively slow, non-performance dance, the sardana does not require special fitness. The dance circle can be opened to a highly variable number of dancers. When danced in the streets and town squares, small circles of dancers can be seen to form and grow: often passers-by join in, leaving their bags in the center of the circle. The dancers are alternate men and women, and care must be taken by those joining not to split partners.