Feliz Día de San Valentín!  Love and romance en España. Today is the el 14 de Febrero – the14th February and well rather predictably this episode takes a loving look at Valentine's Day here in Spain.

I'm going to look at what loved-up Spaniards get up to on this special day for lovers – i'll be comparing the Spanish Valentine's Day with Valentine's Day back home in the UK and examining some of the romantic traditions that happen here.

I'll also check out regional romantic celebrations, such as Catalonia's St. George’s Day or La Diada de Sant Jordi when couples rejoice their love on April 23 by exchanging books and roses. For people from Valencia, the most romantic day of the year is the 9th of October, when they celebrate both the Day of the Valencian Community as well as the Day of Saint Dionysius (Sant Dionís), locally known as the patron saint of lovers.

I'll be asking the question – are the Spanish a romantic bunch? Are they better lovers than other nationalities, especially us Northern Europeans? I'll attempt to answer this question.

To my surprise it's claimed that the bones of St. Valentine can be found in Madrid? Resting on plush red velvet within a golden reliquary, the supposed remains of this most romantic of saints are housed in the church of San Anton in Chueca neighbourhood. The skull along with various other bones were discovered in some Roman catacombs at the end of the 18th century. Having nowhere to put these remains, The Pope made gave them to the king of Spain as a present.

Finally, for a bit of fun we'll look at some language of love... Some terms of endearment and expressions that are useful whether you're attached or not.

Terms of Endearment:

MY HALF AN ORANGE 'mi media naranja'

MY FATTY 'gordi'.

LITTLE PIGEON 'Pichoncito/a'

MY LITTLE INSECT/BUG 'bicho' or 'bichito'.

LA PARIENTA 'the missus'

MY SOUL 'mi alma'

MY LOVE/DARLING 'Mi amor' 'cariño'

MY SKY 'mi cielo'

CORAZÓN 'heart'

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WHAT IS WHEN IN SPAIN?

The When in Spain show is a weekly podcast show, recorded in Madrid (and other parts of Spain) where l talk about my ‘warts and all’ observations and insights on life and culture on the Iberian peninsular.

I cast an eye on everyday life, people, places, politics,