Tag Archives: Valentine’s Day

Great ideas for making your Valentine’s Day break something special

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If you’re planning a romantic holiday cottage break this Valentine’s Day, we have a few ideas to help make it truly special. Our lovely cottages are the perfect venue for quiet time away from the world that can allow you spend quality time together. If you want to add a little more spark to your time with us, try one of these.

Re-enact your first date

Depending on how successful your first date was, why not re-enact it while you’re away? Chances are that you will both have fond memories of it, which makes it a prime candidate for a romantic Valentine’s Day treat. If you can, go back to the same venue, order the same food, drink the same drinks and relive those good times.

Do something active

Activity produces endorphins which make you feel good. Incorporating some kind of fun activity into your Valentine’s Day break could make all the difference to how it goes. You could try ice skating, hang gliding, jet skiing, cycling, a long walk somewhere scenic or whatever you like. Spending time together doing something active is a great way to spend a day.

Get pampered

While not every man’s cup of tea, a massage and spa day is also a good way to reconnect. No woman can resist being looked after and pampered for a day so is a good way to get you in the mood. Why not try a couple’s massage so you can both enjoy being looked after for a while?

Stay indoors

Staying indoors can be fun too if it’s by choice. Get lots of food and drink, take some board games, a pack or cards or bring a few movies if you like. Turn off your phones, switch those laptops off and leave the world outside for a day. There’s nothing like doing nothing for a day to make you feel good. Many of our holiday cottages have real fires or log burners to add to the mood.

Dress up for a night out

Making a reservation somewhere nice nearby and dressing up for the occasion can make a very special Valentine’s Day. Many of our cottages are close to towns and villages, many of which will have a nice restaurant. Book well in advance as you know how busy they get. Make an occasion of it and have a great time. It’s what this time of year is all about!

The origins and history of Valentine’s Day

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Here at holidaycottages.net, we’re taking lots of bookings for romantic holiday cottages for Valentine’s Day. It’s a busy time for us, but we wanted to take a minute to think about the origins of this day. Where did it come from? Why do we celebrate it?

As far as we know, celebrations began in Roman times. The festival of Lupercalia was held in February on the 13th, 14th and 15th. This was a fertility festival, held to usher in the spring and healthy crops. Men would run around naked using dog or goat-skin whips to spank women to promote their fertility too.

Valentine was Bishop of Interamna who served in AD 197 under the Roman Emperor Aurelian. He was beheaded for reasons unknown. Another Christian Valentine, Valentine of Rome was also martyred for giving aid to prisoners during the reign of Emperor Claudius. He was said to have fallen in love with his jailer’s daughter and wrote to her signing off “From your Valentine.”

Then, around 496 AD, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th St. Valentine’s Day. The day was to be a Christian feast day, ostensibly designed to “civilise” the still popular festival of Lupercalia.

The first mentions of Valentine’s Day and love, apart from the alleged love letters from Valentine, were from Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote in his book “Parlement of Foules” in 1382 about the engagement of Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia. “For this was on St. Valentine's Day/ When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.”

Later, in France around 1400 AD, the High Court of Love was formed to manage affairs of the heart such as marriage, divorces and all manner of happenings. It was held on Valentine’s Day each year. Sometime later, the Duke of Orleans writes the first recorded Valentine’s love letter to his love when he was a prisoner in the Tower of London.

By now, Valentine’s Day is a firm fixture in the calendar, so much so that Shakespeare writes about it in Hamlet. “To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,/All in the morning betime,/And I a maid at your window,/To be your Valentine.”

From then on, Valentine’s Day was a regular part of our year. The print press, the advent of the card, various publications of romantic rhyme writing and the Post Office all made sending cards and love notes easier. The rest as they say, is history.

So when you’re relaxing in your romantic holiday cottage on Valentine’s Day, just think. The holiday you’re celebrating is over 2000 years old!