The 23rd of April the whole world celebrates International Book Day and for quite a few years Menorca has joined in with this festival of literature and culture. Bookshops come out onto the street with the latest publications and nearly all the towns on the island join in with a programme of diverse activities that contribute to stimulating a love for reading.
This celebration has its origin on the 23rd of April 1616, the year marking the death of the writers Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare. By coincidence the date of the 23rd of April has also coincided with the death or birth of other writers such as Manuel Mejía Vallejo, Josep Pla, Maurice Druon, Halldor Laxness or Vladimir Nabokov. For this reason in 1995 UNESCO chose this special date as World Book and Author’s Rights Day.
In Menorca, due to the closeness to Catalan neighbours, books share the spotlight with roses since in Catalonia the 23rd of April is also Lovers Day. This is why you can see stands of red roses, the colour of passion but also of the blood of the fierce dragon that killed so many maidens and which was slain by Saint George, the patron saint of scouts and the English cavalry. Traditionally, the gift of the rose must be accompanied by the gift of the book.
This day has also been used in order to give an important role to the younger members of the family. The majority of schools make use of the fine spring weather of the 23rd of April to go out and stroll with their pupils in order to experience the festivity of books close-up, but above all to learn to love books and become accustomed to reading. The booksellers of Menorca know this and so children’s literature is becoming an increasingly more important sector.
