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. |
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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.
Image courtesy of Corbis/Lake County Museum.
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 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.
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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 welcomed 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.
Image courtesy of Corbis
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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. |
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| 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". |
Special thanks to American
Greetings. http://www.historychannel.com |
