Friday 10th - Tuesday 14th February
Booking is advisable.
Click here for the origins of St. Valentine's and St.Dwynwen's Day

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Feb 2012

History of St. Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day probably originates from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. In the early days of Rome, fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. A festival held in the honour of Lupercus was celebrated on February 15th. The festival was celebrated as a spring festival. Their calendar was different at that time, with February falling in early spring time. One of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and place into jars. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name was chosen was to be his sweetheart for the year. Legend has it that the holiday became Valentine's Day after a priest named Valentine. Valentine was a priest in the Roman time. Christianity was a new religion. The emperor at the time, Claudius II, ordered the Roman soldiers NOT to marry or become engaged. Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay at home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married the young couples. He was eventually arrested, imprisoned, and put to death. While in prison awaiting his execution on 14th February 270 AD he fell in love with the jailor's daughter and wrote her a letter 'from your Valentine', an expression that has stood the test of time for over 1,700 years. Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from 15th of February to 14th February - Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honoured Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

Others believe that February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno, Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses, also known as the Godess of women and marriage. It was also the day before the Feast of Lupercalia when an order of Roman priests gathered at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests sacrificed a goat, for fertility and on the eve of the festival the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Young men would then draw names from the jar, wear them on their sleeves - to wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for people to know how you are feeling - and partner the girls whose names they drew for the duration of the festival. The pairing would sometimes last an entire year and often they would fall in love and later marry.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

What better place than The Glyn y Weddw Arms then to unlock the heart of the one you love, on Valentine's Day or any time of the year...

French = Je t'aime; Spanish = Te amo; German = Ich liebe dich; Welsh = Dwi'n dy garu di; Japanese = Ishite imasu; Russian = Yalyblyu tyebya; = Italian Ti amo; Chinese = Wo i nei; Greeek = S'agapo

St. Dwynwen's Day 25th January - the Welsh equivalent of St. Valentine's

Dwynwen is the patron saint of Welsh lovers and lived during the 5th century. She was said to be one of the 24 children fathered by the then King of Wales, Brychan of Brycheiniog (Brecon). She was renown to be both very religious and pure and was also said to be enchantingly beautiful, thereby attracting the attention of many love struck men. As the legend goes, one evening Dwynwen's father held a feast and a young Prince called Maelon Gwynedd fell in love with her. There are many interpretations of what happened next, some claim that Maelon was so outraged that Dwynwen had chosen a life of a nun that he raped her. It is written that she was visited by an angel, became a nun and settled on Llanddwyn island off the west coast of Anglesey. It is there that she founded a church or convent and it is said that she was joined by many brokenhearted women. She died around 460 AD. The remains of the 16th century church can be seen on Llanddwyn today although the site is attributed to that of the church founded by Dwynwen. Pilgrimages have been made to the site over the centuries, particularly from young lovers seeking assurances of their future lives together.