The History of Valentine's Day!

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are
exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But
who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The
history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in
mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of
romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges
of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint
Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints
named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the
third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single
men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he
outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers.
Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and
continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When
Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put
to death.


Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for
attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they
were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine'
greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell
in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter
-- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is
alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your
Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the
truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly
emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly,
romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine
was one of the most popular saints in England and France.


While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of
February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial
-- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the
Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day
in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations
of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the
official beginning of spring and was considered a time for
purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and
then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their
interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February
15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of
agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.


To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman
priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a
she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for
fertility, and a dog, for purification.


The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the
sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women
and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful,
Roman women d being touched with the hides because it was
believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year.
Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city
would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then
each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with
his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius
declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman
'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and
outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in
France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating
season, which added to the idea that the middle of February --
Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known
valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke
of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London
following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which
was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the
British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is
believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to
compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.


In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated
around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth
century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to
exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of
the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to
improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way
for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression
of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also
contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's
Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made
valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began
to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.


According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion
valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second
largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion
cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In
addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in
Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages
(written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the
oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The
first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S.
were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the
Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace,
ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap
".
 
Top