Church holds St. Valentines service, holiday mostly ignored by Czechs

A special Roman Catholic service was held on Thursday in the Church of St. Peter and Paul on Prague's Vysehrad hill, dedicated to St. Valentine, celebrated in some countries as the patron saint of lovers in secular tradition. The church at Vysehrad claims to own the holy relics of St. Valentine. The holiday came to the Czech Republic with the fall of communism but has not taken root in the country. This year many sweetshops and florists have put up special Valentine's Day decorations but have not reported increased sales, the CTK news agency said.