23rd of April

Today is the 23rd of April. If I were back home I would probably be in Madrid, taking advantage of the fact that it's the celebration of the Battle of Villalar, the holiday of Castilla y León, and visiting the Madrid book fair. Since I'm not, I'm working, and trying to remember all the reasons I like this date.

First and foremost, I like it because for me it represents a holiday. A day I didn't have to go to school, and usually a day when my parents took me to one city or another to a book fair. Secondly, it was a day to do with books. I like book fairs. Specially second hand book fairs. They're a chance to discover new books, new authors and they give me an excuse to buy (or beg for) books.

Secondly, I like the day because of an anecdote, not really a coincidence, but almost. Shakespeare was possibly born on the 23rd of April of 1564 (he was baptised on the 26th) and he died on the 23rd of April 1616. Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, author of Don Quixote, was buried on the 23rd of April 1616 too, even though he died on the 22nd. Coincidence, huh? Not really. The dates are from different calendars. During Shakespeare's life, England used the Julian calendar, and so he died on the 23rd of April. However, in Catholic Europe the calendar changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. According to the Gregorian calendar, Shakespeare would have died on the 3rd of May. But let's ignore this. I love to say that the two arguably most significant authors in my two most significant languages died on the same day.

Thirdly, and though I've never celebrated it, I like it because it's St George's Day. I love representations of St George and the Dragon. I love that roses are exchanged on this day (in Catalonia it is typical to give a rose and a book to loved ones on this date). I find it really literary and romantic (even though I'm not a big fan of roses).

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to say that I like this day. This year we've been granted good weather even here in London, I'm reading a good book, and the bad mood that had been haunting me this weekend is gone. So 23rd of April. A good day.