February is the month of LOVE and the Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden will be celebrating Valentine’s Day by hosting a romantic picnic. Romantic music from artists such as Teddy Pendergrass, Barry White and Marvin Gaye will be playing in the background while families enjoy a romantic evening out with the stars.
Marketing and Communications officer Ronny Tshabalala said the outdoors and family are the two operative words that should persuade you to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your loved one.
“After all, it’s about quality time, great outdoors and soulful music that should make your Valentine’s celebration the best,” he said.
The event will start at 6pm on 14 February and tickets are priced at R50 for adults, R25 for scholars and children under six enter for free.
Valentine’s Day is also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. It originated as a Western Christian liturgical feast day honouring one or more early saints named Valentinus, and is recognised as a significant cultural and commercial celebration in many regions around the world. Several stories associated with the various Valentines that were connected to the day were added to later biographies, including a popular account of Saint Valentine of Rome, which indicated he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell.
The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as valentines). In Europe, Saint Valentine’s Keys are given to lovers “as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart”, as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine’s Malady).Valentine’s Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
