A History of Valentine's Day
February holiday has varied roots, different theories
Valentine's Day is all about love, but its past includes imprisonment, defiance, war and execution.
Valentine’s Day has its beginnings in both Christian and Roman culture.
There are a number of theories on how the holiday began.
One of the most popular, according to the website History.com, centers on a Catholic priest who lived in Rome during the third century B.C. Historians say the priest, named Valentine, defied Emperor Claudius II when the ruler outlawed marriage for young men because he felt single men made better soldiers. Valentine thought the order was immoral and married young couples in secret. When he was caught, he was arrested and imprisoned. While in custody, Valentine reportedly fell in love with a young girl, perhaps his jailor’s daughter. He sent her love notes from his cell, addressed “From Your Valentine.” The romantic priest was executed in mid-February. Some scholars say that is why Valentine’s Day is celebrated on Feb. 14.
The date is set
Others say the mid-February date was chosen by Christians to compete with a Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia. According to History.com, the pagan celebration was held to mark the beginning of spring. It was done in honor of Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
Whatever the reason, the Feb. 14th date was officially chosen by Pope Gelasius in about 498 A.D.
The holiday was celebrated first in the United Kingdom before spreading to other parts of Europe. It became popular in England in the 1600s.
Tradition beginnings
Many Valentine’s Day traditions have interesting roots. The giving of romantic cards may date back to 1415 when Charles, Duke of Orleans, was imprisoned in the Tower of London. According to the World Book encyclopedia, the Frenchman secretly sent love notes to his wife. On Valentine’s Day, he reportedly sent a rhymed love letter from his cell.
In the 1700s, single women in England wrote men’s names on scraps of paper, rolled them in clay and dropped them in water. Whichever name rose to the surface was supposedly the woman’s true love.
At that time, men used to draw women’s names from a jar. Some of the men pinned the slip of paper to their arm. That is where the expression “wearing your heart on your sleeve” comes from.
Commercial valentines were first produced in the early 1800s. Many were blank, allowing the buyer to write a personal note. In the late 1840s, Esther Howland of Massachusetts became the first person to mass produce Valentine’s Day cards.
Valentine’s Day Facts
The holiday has become a popular day in certain parts of the world,
The Greeting Card Association estimates 1 billion cards are sent on Valentine’s Day. That’s second only to the 2.6 billion cards sent during the Christmas holiday.
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France and Australia. It is not recognized extensively in other countries.
About 85 percent of Valentine’s Day cards are purchased by women.
