Forest of Dean St. Valentines Day 2022

Comments Off on Forest of Dean St. Valentines Day 2022 Written on January 26th, 2018 by
Categories: Events

Forest of Dean St Valentines Day – Why not Treat Somebody Special

Saint Valentines's Day 2022

St. Valentines Day 2019 in the Forest of Dean is something special. When is St. Valentine’s day? February 14th is the day in question.

Every year, people all over the world celebrate St Valentine’s day in all manner of weird and wonderful ways. Some people send flowers, others send chocolates, some send both. There are thousands of ways to celebrate this lovely day and we at Forest of Dean Lodges in Coleford would like to lend a helping hand.

Did you know; Second only to Christmas, St. Valentines Day sells most cards? Over 160 million cards worldwide. Just imagine that?

The History of St. Valentines Day

As with many other traditions, St. Valentine is as much a half myth, half-truth concoction. The Catholic Church has at least three St. Valentines or variations on the name.

One story goes that the emperor Claudius II, a third-century ruler of the Roman empire outlawed marriages. He though single men made better fighters. Wives and families were therefore not the order of the day for young warriors.

The legend has it that a priest called Valentine thought this unjust and continued to perform marriages. Claudius didn’t like this one bit and so had him bumped off.

More about St. Valentine

Another legend has St. Valentine as a person who helped prisoners escape from jails where they were tortured and beaten. He was of course caught and banged up himself. According to the legend, Valentine sent the first message himself. This was, allegedly to the jailer’s daughter. It was signed “from your Valentine”. This is the message that is used to this very day.

There are more stories of this kind. One reason for the event being held in the middle of February is, so I am told, down to the Catholic church. According to whoever, the church wanted to persuade pagans from their wicked ways. So, putting St. Valentine’s day smack bang in the middle of a pagan festival seemed to be a great idea.

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Read more on this topic.

St Valentine’s Day in modern culture

Mind you; St Valentines Day has not always been linked to peace, love and understanding. Oh no! During the time of a certain Al Capone, Circa 1929, there was a memorable “rub out” performed in Chicago. 5 members of Bugs Moran’s North Side gang and two associates were gunned down by other gangsters posing as policemen.

Nobody was ever caught and the “St. Valentines Day Massacre” has since become as synonymous with the 14th of February and the love machine from the time of Claudius II.

Forest of Dean Lodges – Romantic Lodges and Cabins

The Royal Forest of Dean is a beautiful and romantic setting. Don’t take my word for it, ask anyone who has ever been. There is no such thing as going “over the top” when it comes down to showing your appreciation for somebody. Flowers and chocolates are a great idea but what about a break?

Imagine a romantic weekend or even a week in the most beautiful part of the UK. We have the lodges and cottages, as well as the staff that will make your St. Valentines Day extra special. Contact us today and book yourself one of our luxury lodges.

If you would like more information, then we are ready and available to help you at any time. We look forward to seeing you and your extra special “other half” at Coleford, Forest of Dean.

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