Catalunya marks Sant Jordi's Day with yellow 'protest' roses

Hundreds of stalls from mainstream high-street book shops and hundreds more selling second-hand volumes line the streets of Catalunya's major towns and cities, and famous authors – mostly Spanish, but often with international household names including, one year, Irish chick-lit novelist Marian Keyes – sign copies of their works for members of the public.

Other than on All Saints' Day on November 1 when Spaniards traditionally visit the graves of their departed loved ones, Sant Jordi is when florists in Catalunya make most of their money for the year – although all types of flowers are sold from street stalls, the majority are red roses.

According to legend, Sant Jordi's day is when admirers give their admired ones a book or a flower, or both, as a gift, and coincides with the deaths of the UK's and Spain's greatest writers, William Shakespeare and Don Quijote author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.

Barcelona sees the biggest Sant Jordi fair of all take place, and this year there was no shortage of campaigns for Catalunya's pro-independence politicians to be released from prison – in the form of yellow roses slipped into flower stalls.

Yellow has become the colour associated with the clamour for freeing what protesters call 'the political prisoners', and supporters wear loops of yellow ribbon pinned to their clothing – the most famous, other than ex-regional president Carles Puigdemont, being Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who has reportedly refused to remove his during matches despite having paid a €23,000 fine to the British Football Association (FA).

Piles of yellow roses were heaped up around Catalunya's regional Parliament building in Barcelona this afternoon to show support.

Book and flower sellers say takings so far have been low, but are expecting them to start shooting up late in the evening – the last two Sant Jordis fell on a weekend, but with today being a working day, most buyers will visit after they clock off, typically around 20.00 or 21.00.