Wear a Rose Tomorrow

If you're a boutonniere wearing man, tomorrow is St. George's Day, the one day of the year to wear a red rose in your lapel.

Should anyone ask you for the story of your rose, it is the symbol of the knight known for the legend of George and the Dragon. After George killed the beast and saved the princess, a red rose sprouted miraculously from a drop of the dragon's blood.

You just couldn't beat a story about a knight saving a princess from a dragon during the Middle Ages and George's legend was known across Europe. In real life a Roman soldier who was persecuted for his Christianity, he achieved sainthood in the tenth century and went on to become the patron saint of half a dozen countries, including England and Germany, and more cities including Moscow, Istanbul, and Venice.

Some four million roses will be purchased tomorrow in Catalonia alone, particularly Barcelona, where it is traditional to give a rose to your sweetheart or wife and receive a book in return. Those of us who don't live in Spain may have to be content with a rose in our lapels.