St.Valentine’s Day Origins
The history of Valentine’s Day and the story of its origin are shrouded in mystery. We know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance and that Valetine’s Day as we know it contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
Perfect gifts for lovers
Valentine’s Day is a day for flowers, chocolates and celebrating love. This year however, why not make your loved one feel extra special with something beautiful from our Chicy Rachael range.
Here’s our top gifts for lovers,
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Cream Vintage Distressed Embossed Hanging Heart
£1.50 -
Distressed Forever My Sister Always My Friend Heart Plaque
£3.00 -
Four Tin Hanging Hearts With A Distressed Finish
£4.80 -
Set Of Three Grey Wicker Hearts
£8.00 -
Sweet Dreams Sleep Tight Heart Plaque
£3.50 -
White Vintage Daisy Small Heart Decoration
£1.95
Sweet Treats
Nothing says I Love You like a handmade gift, so this Valentine’s Day treat your loved one to some of these delicious Sweet Heart Cookies.
Sweet Heart Cookies
225g (8oz) cold unsalted butter –diced
100g (3oz) caster sugar
200g (7oz) plain flour –plus extra to dust
110g (4oz) ground almonds
150g (5oz) raspberry jam
You will also need;
A plain round cutter size of your choice and a small heart cutter.
Method:
Place the butter, sugar, flour and ground almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process to a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 170c, fan 160c or gas 3.
Knead the dough till its pliable, then working with half at a time, thinly roll it out on a lightly floured surface and cut out the bases for cookies, the dough can be rolled twice. Transfer the rounds to a baking tray and using the heart cutter cut out hearts from the centre of just over half them to allow for breakages. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly golden, then remove and leave to cool. You will need to bake in two batches so leave the second batch in the fridge while the first is baking .
Spoon the jam into a bowl and give it a stir. Liberally dust the cookies with icing sugar – spread a little jam on to the centre of each plain biscuit and sandwich together with one of the cut cookies so the jam shows through the heart shape.
Serve with Love xx
Forbidden Romance
During the third century it was claimed that Roman Emperor Claudius II believed that single men made better soldiers than those with wives, so he outlawed marriage for all young men, this he thought would make for a stronger army. However a priest by the name of Valentine did not agree and continued to perform marriage ceremonies without the emperor’s knowledge. Unfortunately the emperor found out and had Valentine executed.
Lupercalia
In ancient Rome a theory suggests that Valentine’s Day is related to Lupercalia , a fertility festival dedicated to the roman god of agriculture named Faunus which traditionally took place during mid February.
During the festival all the young single women would place their names into a giant urn and then in turn all the single men in the village would draw a name from the urn and they then would be paired with the chosen woman.
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