Forget Valentine’s Day – St Dwynwen’s Day is the true day for lovers

David Barnett gets to the heart of the Welsh patron saint of lovers

Twr Mar lighthouse on Llanddwyn Island off Anglesey (Getty/iStock)

Valentine’s Day approaches, with its heart-shaped chocolates and pink cards; its overpriced roses and declarations of love penned by Hallmark’s army of bards. And something to do with a Roman priest? Or a bishop? Secret weddings?

Anyway, forget all that; for 25 January, is the true day for lovers. It is the day of Santes Dwynwen, Wales’s saint of lovers, and she truly is a more tragic and romantic figure that we can properly get behind.

St Dwynwen is honoured in Wales every year – especially on Ynys Llanddwyn (Ynys means “island”), off the coast of Anglesey. It’s a tidal island, meaning it is sometimes connected to the mainland, except at high tide.