National symbols of Catalonia

The national symbols of Catalonia are flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Catalonia or Catalan culture.

The oldest Catalan symbol is the coat of arms of Catalonia, based on the royal arms of the Crown of Aragon, though a number of theories trace its origin to even older times. It is one of the oldest coats of arms in Europe.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] A legend, considered non-historical, says that the four red bars (Quatre Pals or Quatre Barres) are the result of Charles the Bald, known also as Charles II, king of West Francia, smearing four bloodied fingers over Wilfred the Hairy's golden shield, after the latter had fought against the Normans.

Catalonia's national symbols as defined in the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia^[5] are the flag, Catalonia's day, and the anthem. These symbols have often a political and revindicative significance. Other symbols may not have official status, for different reasons, but are likewise recognised at a national or international level. One of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia is the St George's Cross (Creu de Sant Jordi).

Official national symbols

Name	Description	Officially adopted
Flag of Catalonia or Senyera	The flag of Catalonia or Senyera (its name in Catalan), based on the coat of arms, is the most representative official symbol. It consists of four red stripes on a golden background. Its use dates from the 12th century, when it was the symbol of the kings of Aragon and counts of Barcelona. Proportions of the flag are 2:3.	May 25, 1933
National Day of Catalonia	The National Day of Catalonia, commonly called La Diada^[6] is on 11 September. It commemorates the 1714 Siege of Barcelona defeat during the War of the Spanish Succession.	June 12, 1980
Els Segadors	"Els Segadors" (The Reapers) is the national anthem of Catalonia. Is an adaptation of a popular song of the 18th century based on the Reapers' War (1640-1659). It has been an unofficial Catalan anthem since the late 19th century, and officially recognized by law in 1993.	January 19, 1993

Other official symbols and distinctions

Name	Description	Officially adopted
Seal of the Generalitat de Catalunya	Derived from the coat of arms, it is the official emblem of the Generalitat, the institution of self-government of Catalonia, adopted in 1932, during the Second Spanish Republic. It is one of the few republican symbols to remain official in Spain.	1932
Gold Medal of the Generalitat of Catalonia	The Gold Medal of the Generalitat is the highest civil distinction awarded in Catalonia.	May 17, 1978
St George's Cross Award	It is one of the most valued distinctions awarded in Catalonia, based on the St George's Cross, historic Catalan symbol. It was established by the Generalitat by virtue of the Decree 457/1981 of 18 December 1981. The medal was designed by goldsmith Joaquim Capdevila.	December 18, 1981

Historical

	The Catalan constitutions (Constitucions catalanes) were the legislation of the Principality of Catalonia promulgated by the monarch as Count of Barcelona and approved by the Catalan Courts. The first ones were promulgated in 1283, the last ones in 1706. They had pre-eminence over the other legal rules and could only be revoked by the Courts themselves.
	St George's Cross
	Palau de la Generalitat is a historic building located in Barcelona. It hosted the government and the presidency of the Generalitat, the institution of self-government of Catalonia.
	Poblet Abbey
	Timbaler del Bruc
	The sickle is an agricultural tool particularly associated with the Reapers' War (1640-1652) and other Catalan popular uprisings.

Certain institutions from the former Principality of Catalonia, like the Catalan constitutions, the Usatges, the Consell de Cent, the Catalan Courts and the Generalitat are valued as historical symbols of ancient local forms of government by Catalans.

Owing to a common history and shared experiences, as well as interactions at different levels along the centuries, many of the traditional Catalan symbols overlap with those of Aragon, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. This is often cause of controversies, as it is often difficult to resolve conflicts regarding differing perceptions of the culture, the history and the language issues surrounding what was the former Crown of Aragon and the culturally Catalan geographic areas. Places like the Poblet Monastery where the ancient kings lie buried are especially revered as common symbols that helped consolidate Catalonia in the 12th century.^[7]

Historical symbols of a military nature

In former times the existence and very survival of Catalonia depended on being victorious in the constant battles against the Saracens. Therefore, many ancient Catalan symbols are of a warlike nature, like Otger Cataló, also known as Pare de la Pàtria ("Father of the Country"), the Nou Barons de la Fama, James the Conqueror, the Almogavars, Bernat de Rocafort and the Comte Tallaferro. Present-day "moros i cristians" popular festivals still commemorate the battles against the Moors (or Muslims) that allowed the Catalans to endure the invasions.^[8]

The national anthem of Els Segadors, as well as the sickle, date back to the Reapers' War (1640 - 1659), while the Timbaler del Bruc (drummer of El Bruc) commemorates the resistance against Napoleon I's troops in Catalonia during the Peninsular War (1808 - 1814).

Folkloric and popular symbols

The Castellers

The Sardana dance

Aside of the symbols of a historic, political and religious character, there are other popular Catalan symbols which are more or less serious according to the case and the context.

Many of these symbols come from the local folklore, like the sardana dance, the Castellers and the gegants i capgrossos, as well as the dragon, and its derivations, the cucafera, the vibria and the bat. The choosing of a "Pubilla" in the summer fairs comes from an old tradition based on the transmission of hereditary patrimony in rural Catalonia.

Still, certain traditional and "typical" symbols deserve mention, like Patufet, the St George's Day red rose, the Nit de Sant Joan bonfires, the correfoc, the barretina traditional hat, the porró, the Tió de Nadal and the caganer.

One of the most famous international symbols of Catalonia is FC Barcelona. The area's footballing branch is supported with a passion by its fans, the culés. Each season Barça engages in one of La Liga's most famous rivalries, El Clàssic against long-time rivals Real Madrid. To a lesser extent the USAP Perpignan rugby team is also considered, especially by some Catalan nationalists, as an unofficial national team of Catalonia.

Religious

The Virgin of Montserrat

Sant Jordi (Saint George), the patron saint of Catalonia.^[9] Fountain in the Palau de la Generalitat, Barcelona

Ancestral symbols, like the Virgin of Montserrat, Saint George, other Virgins and Saints, as well as the Pessebre, the Nit de Reis and the Christmas celebrations, are derived from the Christian doctrine. These symbols were fruit of a time when churches or cathedrals were in the centre of Catalan towns and respect for priests was not questioned. The Christian cross and the colors of the sacrifice of Christ, white and red for "body and blood", inspired a great part of the Catalan traditional emblems. Some old Christian symbols are now subject to controversy,^[10] for present-day society in Catalonia is in a state of Postchristianity, seeing itself as more secular than its traditional ancestry.

The names of many villages, cities and mountains all over Catalonia, like Santa Susanna, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, or Sant Llorenç del Munt, as well as a great number of chapels and hermitages spread all over the territory, remain as a testimony of the ancestral faith of the Catalans. In recent times, however, these symbols have seen their meaning much reduced. While until the 19th century all Catalans felt represented by their symbols of Christianity, nowadays only a few consider them relevant.^[11] Already in 1905 writer and bishop Josep Torras i Bages (1846–1916), convinced that the Catalan nation had to be Christian in order to establish itself as something enduring and meaningful in the future, strongly criticized the secularism displayed by the "militant nationalism" of Enric Prat de la Riba (1870–1917).

According to Torras i Bages, the seny (a kind of good sense and wisdom), another Catalan symbol, was based in ancient Catalan traditions.^[12] Analyzing this controversy, Mossèn Gaietà Soler i Perejoan (1863–1914) came to the conclusion that "there are two "opposing visions" in Catalonia, from one side the Catholic (one), based on "seny" and tradition, aiming to promote benevolent social restoration ... of the faith and social and legal customs of Catalonia...", and on the other side "the unconcerned (vision), based on what is politically convenient, in order to achieve, rather than social improvement, (merely) the political prestige of a nation-state."^[13]

Geographic

	Montserrat
	Canigó
	Pedraforca

Mountains like the Canigó, Montserrat and the striking double-peaked Pedraforca, are ancestral symbols endowed with mythical attributes according to the local folklore.

Certain cities of the Catalan cultural area have a symbolic significance as the most extreme geographic points of the spoken Catalan language or one of its variants. These are: Salses, the northernmost, Guardamar (Valencian), the southernmost, Maó (Menorquí), the easternmost, and Fraga, the westernmost.

Gastronomy

	Pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato) is considered the quintessential dish of Catalonia. It consists of toasted bread with tomato rubbed over and seasoned with olive oil and salt.
	The Calçot is a type of scallion or green onion. A "calçotada" is an annual event in Tarragona celebrating the harvest of Calçot. It is grilled on high fire and eaten after peeling with bare hands by dipping one by one in romesco sauce along with an accompaniment of red wine and bread.
	A botifarra is a sausage made from the large intestine of a pig filled with minced and marinated meat from the same animal, seasoned with salt and pepper. Botifarra amb mongetes ("botifarra with beans") is perhaps one of the most representative Catalan dish.
	Escudella i carn d'olla is a traditional meat and vegetable stew and soup. It is characterized by the use of a pilota, a big meatball spiced with garlic and parsley; it also contains vegetables as celery, cabbage, carrots, etc. and, additionally, bones, botifarra, and other types of meat. In Christmas it included a snail-shaped pasta known as galet.
	Crema catalana ("Catalan cream") is a dessert similar to a French crème brûlée. It is made from egg yolks, milk, sugar, cornflour (in modern recipes), and aromatics, typically lemon zest, cinnamon, or vanilla, with a crisp caramel crust.^[14]
	Cava is an iconic sparkling wine mainly produced in the Penedès region. It may be white (blanc) or rosé (rosat).

Flora and fauna

	The "ruc català" or "burro català" (Catalan donkey) is a breed of large domestic donkeys from Catalonia and the Roussillon. As a national symbol, is a relatively recent creation when the need was felt to produce something Catalan to oppose to the Central Spanish Osborne bull, widely perceived by many Catalans as a centralistic symbol.^[15]
	Víbria ("wyvern") is a mythical dragon with two legs, chiropteran wings, sometimes with marked feminine characters (like two prominent breasts) and bird-like, like an eagle's beak with claws and wings. The kings of the Crown of Aragon used it in their personal heraldry as crest. Today, it is frequently represented at traditional local Catalan festivals.
	The yellow weaver's broom (ginesta in Catalan) has often been regarded as the national flower of Catalonia, specially in combination with red poppies.^[16]
	The Pi de les Tres Branques is an individual pine tree located in the municipality of Castellar del Riu. Since the late 19th century it has been seen as a symbol of the unity of the three "Catalan countries" and been a venue for political and cultural gatherings.
	The Catalan Sheepdog (Catalan: Gos d'atura català) is a breed of Catalan Pyrenean dog used as a sheepdog.
	The Phoenix is a mythical creature particularly related with the Renaixença, the 19th century Romantic revivalist movement of the Catalan language and culture.^[17]

Gallery

National symbols gallery
The Senyera
Memorial to the Battles of the Bruch
Front cover from Lo verdader catalá (The True Catalan). A man wearing barretina sitting by the Catalan shield
Catalan men wearing barretina

References

^ " Léon Jéquier. Actes du II Colloque international d'héraldique". Breassone.1981. Académie internationale d'héraldique. Les Origines des armoiries. Paris. ISBN 2-86377-030-6.
^ Paul Adam Even."L'heraldique catalane au moyen age" in Hidalguia, 22, Mayo-Junio 1957. Madrid. p465.
^ Martí de Riquer. "Heràldica catalana: des l'any 1150 al 1550". Quaderns Crema.1982. ISBN 84-85704-34-7
^ Michel Pastoureau. L'origine des armoiries de la Catalogne" in II Simposi numismàtic de Barcelona. 1980.E.Cymys SCEN ISBN 84-85060-16-4
^ "Statute of Catalonia (Article 8)". Gencat.cat. Retrieved 2018-07-11. modified by the Spanish Constitutional Tribunal Judgment STC 31/2010 of June 28, 2010
^ Law 1/1980 where the Parliament of Catalonia declares that 11th of September is the National Day of Catalonia
^ Joan Bassegoda i Nonell, Història de la restauració de Poblet: destrucció i reconstrucció de Poblet, Poblet, Abadia de Poblet, 1983
^ "Ramon Cuéllar i Sorribes Auca de N'Otger Catalò". Archived from the original on 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
^ Christian Roy, 2005, Traditional Festivals ISBN 978-1-57607-089-5 page 408
^ Vicenç Villatoro. Paisatges d'hivern (La barbaritat de fer un pessebre sense pessebre o una truita sense ou). AVUI, diumenge 2 de gener 2005
^ El Barça tolera un escut sense la creu en un acte al Marroc
^ Josep Torras i Bages, La tradició catalana, 1892
^ Josep Massot i Muntaner Església i societat a la Catalunya contemporània
^ Marijo Jordan (2020-03-20). "Los 10 errores que cometes al hacer crema catalana y natillas" [The 10 mistakes you commit when making crema catalana and custards]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish).
^ Ruc català - (Catalan donkey)
^ (in Catalan) La ginesta, flor nacional de Catalunya
^ Jordi Falgàs i d'altres, Barcelona and Modernity, Picasso Gaudí Miró Dalí, ISBN 0-300-12106-7, 2006.

[leon-1] " Léon Jéquier. Actes du II Colloque international d'héraldique". Breassone.1981. Académie internationale d'héraldique. Les Origines des armoiries. Paris. ISBN 2-86377-030-6.

[pauladam-2] Paul Adam Even."L'heraldique catalane au moyen age" in Hidalguia, 22, Mayo-Junio 1957. Madrid. p465.

[riquer-3] Martí de Riquer. "Heràldica catalana: des l'any 1150 al 1550". Quaderns Crema.1982. ISBN 84-85704-34-7

[pastoureau-4] Michel Pastoureau. L'origine des armoiries de la Catalogne" in II Simposi numismàtic de Barcelona. 1980.E.Cymys SCEN ISBN 84-85060-16-4

[5] "Statute of Catalonia (Article 8)". Gencat.cat. Retrieved 2018-07-11. modified by the Spanish Constitutional Tribunal Judgment STC 31/2010 of June 28, 2010

[6] Law 1/1980 where the Parliament of Catalonia declares that 11th of September is the National Day of Catalonia

[7] Joan Bassegoda i Nonell, Història de la restauració de Poblet: destrucció i reconstrucció de Poblet, Poblet, Abadia de Poblet, 1983

[8] "Ramon Cuéllar i Sorribes Auca de N'Otger Catalò". Archived from the original on 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2009-02-05.

[9] Christian Roy, 2005, Traditional Festivals ISBN 978-1-57607-089-5 page 408

[10] Vicenç Villatoro. Paisatges d'hivern (La barbaritat de fer un pessebre sense pessebre o una truita sense ou). AVUI, diumenge 2 de gener 2005

[11] El Barça tolera un escut sense la creu en un acte al Marroc

[12] Josep Torras i Bages, La tradició catalana, 1892

[13] Josep Massot i Muntaner Església i societat a la Catalunya contemporània

[14] Marijo Jordan (2020-03-20). "Los 10 errores que cometes al hacer crema catalana y natillas" [The 10 mistakes you commit when making crema catalana and custards]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish).

[15] Ruc català - (Catalan donkey)

[16] (in Catalan) La ginesta, flor nacional de Catalunya

[JF-17] Jordi Falgàs i d'altres, Barcelona and Modernity, Picasso Gaudí Miró Dalí, ISBN 0-300-12106-7, 2006.

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