All things Valentines
Now that Christmas is over romance is starting to fill the air and we want to make sure you have the most romantic Valentine’s Day this year. After the past couple of years we have had Valentine’s Day hasn’t always been a priority for many couples, but this year we want you to celebrate in style and have the most romantic day with your loved one.
Valentine’s Day has been a tradition for 100s of years and was first celebrated in the year 496! So, it’s clear to see that it is an incredibly long tradition that was thought to have first been celebrated by the Romans during a festival that they celebrated in the month of February called Lupercalia. It is suggested that boys would draw names of girls out of a box and who they chose would then be a couple and sometimes even get married during the festival. As the years went on the church wanted to turn this festival into a Christian celebration and decided to use it as a time to remember St Valentine.
St Valentine was part of three Saints within the Catholic church during roman times. The recognition of St Valentine comes from when Emperor Claudius II decided that men who were single made far better soldiers than men who were in loving relationships, so he banned marriage for young men. St Valentine believed that this was unfair and a complete injustice, so he defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages of young lovers in secret. Showing that love would conquer all he believed that stopping people from being in loving relationships was unfair and totally against his beliefs. When Claudius found out about this he was outraged and immediately wanted St Valentine to be executed. The legend of Valentine comes from celebrating what he believed in and that everyone deserves to celebrate and be in love.
Valentines Day is celebrated across the world, and each country has different traditions and things that they do to celebrate the loving season. The UK and the United States tend to stick to very commercial celebrations and always celebrate on the 14th of February. Things like heart-shaped gifts and roses are very common gifts and acknowledgements to the romantic season. Whereas other countries have completely different traditions that they like to do to celebrate the season. For example, Argentina dedicates a week in July and call it the week of sweetness, this is a week for couples and people all around to give kisses and chocolates to those who they love and admire. As you can see, Argentina does follow a lot of similar traditions to counties like the UK with the whole aspect of giving love and gifts. Other countries like France like to go all out on Valentine’s Day because it’s believed that the first-ever Valentine’s card was produced in France when Charles the Duke of Orleans, sent love letters to his wife from prison in 1415. A village in France called “Valentine” turns into the epicentre of love and romance between the 12th and 14th of February they decorate with petals, love hearts and confetti all in preparation for the month of love. Other countries further afield celebrate this romantic season completely differently such as Ghana, they dedicate the 14th of February to chocolate! The 14th is Ghana’s National Chocolate Day, they first introduced this day in 2007 to encourage tourism and help cocoa-producing. The day is celebrated with indulging in chocolate, visiting loved ones and enjoying chocolate-themed events.
Now that we know a bit more about Valentine’s Day and where it comes from, you may be starting to think about things that you can do to celebrate the love you have for those around you. Whether you are wanting to splurge this Valentine’s Day or you are happy keeping it simple, there are plenty of things you can buy and do in and around Kent that will make this loving season extra special.
What says I love you more than a beautiful bouquet of roses or your partners favourite flowers? Everyone loves to receive a big bunch of roses (not just on Valentines Day) it just shows how much you really appreciate that one person. Giving flowers to a special someone goes way back to the 17th Century, people started to give roses when they realized that it was the Goddess of Loves favourite flower as she believed they stood for strong feelings. From then people started giving roses to the ones that they loved or admired. Interestingly each flower has a different meaning, for example, pink roses mean love, gratitude, and appreciation. White roses on the other hand symbolize marriage, spirituality, and new starts. White roses are traditionally linked to marriage and a new beginning or fresh start. Then of course red roses show passion, lust and love, hopefully now when purchasing your next bouquet of flowers you can take into consideration what they symbolize.
If you are a nature lover and want to spend the day appreciating the views and exploring nature, then why not bring your loved one on a Valentine’s Day walk. There are plenty of beautiful and assessable walks in and around Kent, whether you are after a full 3 hours walk or just want a stroll to take in some beautiful views there is defiantly somewhere you can go. Salomon’s Estate has the most breathtaking gardens and woodland that you can walkthrough. Nothing says I love you more than walking hand in hand with your special someone around a breathtaking country garden. After walking and breathing in the fresh air, why not join us for a delicious Valentines roast on Sunday 13th February. If you want a bit more of a challenging walk then visit Bewl Water in Kent, with over 12 miles of routes to follow and explore, it makes an adventure lovers perfect Valentine’s Day out.
Whatever you are planning on doing for Valentines Day we hope you have a loving and wonderful day. Whether you are celebrating with a loved one or just practicing self-love, we hope you have a magical day and are feeling like you know a bit more about the origin of Valentines.
With Love Salomons Estate
By Jess Porter