Love was in the air at the new £10 million Gibraltar Care Village as elderly residents celebrated the Welsh equivalent of Valentines Day – St Dwynwen Day.
The residents enjoyed a romantic meal as well as taking part in making hand-made St Dwynwen cards for each other and decorations such as tissue hearts, banners and gifts.
St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, and is seen as the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine
Staff at the village, which boasts hotel-style facilities, wanted the residents to enjoy St Dwynwen Day after many years of celebrating St Valentines Day but decided to hold it on the 14th February so that it did not confuse the residents.
They felt it was important for the residents to celebrate the Welsh equivalent as it is part of the Welsh culture and dates back hundreds of centuries.
Care Village manager, Stephane Beaumont, said: “We have celebrated Valentines Day for many years but this year wanted to do something different.
“St Dwynwen Day is the Welsh equivalent of Valentines Day and so we thought it would be perfect to incorporate the two most romantic days of the year and have one big celebration.
“It is important for our residents to enjoy events such as this as it includes them in national events and also stimulates their creativeness when they make decorations such as cards and banners.
“The staff have worked very hard to ensure the day is fun and interesting and I would like to thank them all for their continued support.”
The popularity and celebration of St Dwynwen Day has increased considerably in recent years and in 2003 The Welsh Language Board had bi-lingual English-Welsh cards printed which were distributed by Tesco stores throughout Wales.
