Hotels Blackpool South Shore - Valentine's Offer
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St Valentine's Day is a holiday dedicated to lovers. It
probably derives from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalis
(February 15th). Originally a festival for shepherds, it was
celebrated in honour of Faunus (in Roman mythology, the grandson
of the god Saturn). Its primary purpose was to secure fertility
for the fields, the flocks, and the shepherds themselves. The
festival gradually became associated with the feast day
(February 14th) of two Roman martyrs, both named St Valentine,
who lived in the 3rd century, but about whom nothing specific is
known. St Valentine has traditionally been regarded as the
patron saint of lovers. An early reference is found in the works
of Chaucer (one of the greatest English poets, whose
masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, was one of the most important
influences on the development of English literature), who states
that birds pair on St Valentine’s Day. The practice of calling
oneself a “Valentine” and asking one’s beloved to be the same,
is referred to in the Paston Letters, the largest surviving
collection of 15th-century English correspondence written by the
Paston family and their neighbours in Norfolk. |
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