All you may know about Valentine’s Day is that it is on February 14th and your significant other is expecting a gift like roses or chocolates. However, there is a lot more to this special day to celebrate your love.
Everything with Valentine’s Day is done in the name of St. Valentine. The history of the holiday and St. Valentine involves a lot of mystery. Not much is known about St. Valentine. There are numerous stories about what he was trying to do to help others and how he fell in love with a girl, sending her a message of love—what could be the very first Valentine greeting.
Many believe the origin of Valentine’s Day is a pagan festival that was celebrated in the middle of February and was related to the death or burial of St. Valentine. During this time, the Christian church would host a feast, which was around the same time as the pagan feast of Lupercalia on February 15th. This was a fertility feast celebrated by the Romans. Part of this festival involved having the young women put their names in an urn and then the bachelors of the city would choose a name and would be paired with this woman, often leading to marriage.
While the festival eventually was outlawed as Christianity took over, it was Pope Gelasius in the fifth century that declared February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day. It was not for many more centuries before this day became associated with love and what it is today. This came about in the Middle Ages with beliefs in England and France that February 14th signaled the beginning of mating seasons for birds, so then it could be a day to celebrate love and romance.
After 1400, Valentine’s greetings started to appear as notes and poems, later evolving into greeting cards. Now, the holiday is celebrated in the U.S. as well as Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In the early 1700s, Americans began to make and exchange Valentine’s greetings with those that they loved.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day cards are given to more than just a significant other. They are handed out among school kids as well as to friends and family members. Even the family pet may get a Valentine’s Day treat. The greeting card and candy industries have turned it into a commercial holiday. Even florists also enjoy a busy time around Valentine’s Day as more people express their love and affection for each other on this special day.
Speaking of which, have you seen our Valentine’s Day roses and gifts?
