So who exactly is St Valentine?

Well very timely this week with Valentine's Day we thought we'd tell you about a fantastic festival for singles ...

In Lisdoonvarna in Ireland every year single ladies and men looking for love should head along to the Matchmaking Festival. This year running from 1 September to 1 October (so time for you to get your tickets and airfares together). As the Festival website tells us "Matchmaking is one of Ireland’s oldest traditions and, for the last couple of hundred years, a good deal of it has taken place in Lisdoonvarna during September and early October.Matchmaking began in Lisdoonvarna when the visiting gentry who were here to take the waters, wanted their accompanying children to be matched to their fellow “upper classes”.  Traditionally they came in September after the harvest was gathered for a holiday…but the more serious business of arranging suitable marriages for their sons and daughters was high on the agenda. The potential match was done by the parents placing them together at social gatherings, sporting events and musical evenings. If the match was pleasing to all parties, their courtship was encouraged to blossom" Read more ...

Which leads us timely into the question of who exactly was St Valentine and why do we celebrate St Valentine's Day?

For those who are unaware St Valentine's story is actually more brutal than romantic! St Valentine was a Roman physician and Priest who came from the small town of Terni in Umbria. He was actually beaten, stoned and beheaded for marrying Christian couples. Because of this act he became known as the patron saint of love (his marrying not his beheading!) Hardly a very fitting end to a supposedly romantic story!

Terni is however a beautifully typical Italian town and advertises itself as the "City of Lovers" ...

So do you celebrate Valentine's Day and if so we hope you headed to one of your fabulous local markets this weekend all of which will have had some excellent unique items for that loved one!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!