St. Valentine’s beheading.
Over the years you may have wondered, maybe why standing in a long line waiting to buy expensive chocolates or flowers, or maybe as a parent when you’ve been up late addressing all those valentine’s to your preschooler’s classmates- just why do we celebrate this seemingly consumer driven holiday?
In reality, Valentine’s Day didn’t start out to be a day to challenge relationships or put pressure on the lonely. It is actually a holiday whose origins are steeped in mystery and love — secret or known.
Valentine’s Day is believed to date back to the early days of Christianity and ancient Rome.
A legend from the Catholic Church is Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. Around this time, Emperor Claudius II decided single men were better soldiers than those who had wives and families. To secure better soldiers, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, feeling the decree to be unjust, defied Claudius and performed marriages for young lovers in secret.
When his actions were discovered, Claudius ordered Valentine to be put to death.
The very first valentine is believed to have been sent by a different prisoner named Valentine, to a young girl he fell in love with—possibly his jailor’s daughter—who visited him during his imprisonment. He is said to have signed the letter he sent her “From your Valentine.”
There are still other historical Valentines’ with potential to be the reason for the day, but you can get the picture- all of them were heroic for love- thus perpetuating the belief February is the month for lovers.
As is the way with many of the holidays we know and love today, Valentine’s Day was christianized- in an effort to stave off the people celebrating the pagan holiday of Lupercalia, a fertility festival dedicated to the worship of Fanus, the Roman god of agriculture.
Lupercalia was officially outlawed at the end of the fifth century under Pope Gelasius, who declared February 14 to be St. Valentine’s Day.
By the Middle Ages, no doubt due to its romantic reputation, Valentine’s Day became one of the most popular holidays in both France and England.
Valentine’s Day greetings were in use as early as after 1400. Credited as being the oldest known valentine is a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife following his capture in 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt.
Valentine’s Day lore maintains King Henry V hired John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to his lady love, Catherine of Valois. Also stemming from England, is the date of February 14 for the holiday’s celebration, said to center around the bird mating season in England and France.
Well, you may ask, what about that Cupid?
Like so many figures, Cupid has his roots in Greek mythology- the Greek god Eros. Possibly the son of Aphrodite and Ares, Eros was said to be exceedingly handsome and careless with the emotions of both gods and men. Legend claims he used golden arrows to incite love and leaden ones to grow aversion.
Unkind to the handsome Eros, history turned him into the fat, mischievous baby we see on Valentine’s Day cards the world over as Cupid.
By the middle of the 18th century tradition already saw people exchanging small tokens of affection in addition to hand written notes. In the 1900’s, ready-made valentine’s hit the market and no one ever looked back. The first mass produced valentines in America were by Esther A. Howland, who brought them to the American consumer in the 1840’s. She became known as the “Mother of the Valentine”- her elaborate cards made with real lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures set many girlish hearts all aflutter come February 14.
Americans, who most likely began exchanging valentines in the early 1700’s, have turned the holiday into the second-largest card sending day of the year, second only to Christmas.
Valentine’s Day is not a holiday just for the United States- it is also celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
