Generally viewed as a Hallmark holiday, the roots of Valentine's Day go back as far as 270 A.D. The modern Saint Valentine's Day celebration is thought to have originated from the Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that was initially observed on February 15th. As Christianity gained power in Europe, several pagan holidays were renamed and dedicated to early Christian martyrs, and Lupercalia was one of them. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius made Lupercalia a Christian feast day, setting its date back by one day, to February 14th, to be held in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century. There were three early Christian saints by the name of Valentine. One of them was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and little is known of the third except that he died in Africa. Tradition is that all three of them were martyred on February 14th, although Saint Valentine's Day was intended to honor the priest in Rome, who lived around 270 A.D., and clashed with the Roman emperor, Claudius II. There are a couple of versions to the Saint Valentine's Day story, a Catholic and a Protestant one. Both agree that Saint Valentine had held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers, contrary to the orders of Emperor Claudius II, who had prohibited marriage for young men in the military, and that Valentine was executed by Claudius. At this time, the Roman empire was on the downslide. Civil strife was rampant, particularly in outpost regions. Education had declined, taxes were unbearable, and trade was down. The Roman Empire was challenged by the Gauls, the Slavs, Huns, Turks, and Mongolians. The empire had grown too large to be sustainable. Claudius felt that married men in the military were more attached to their families than to their service, so he issued an edict forbidding marriage. While awaiting his execution, Valentine is said to have restored the sight of the blind daughter of one of his jailers, according to the Catholic version of the story. Protestants refute this part of the story. Meanwhile, Valentine ha formed a strong friendship with the daughter of the jailer, and the story is that just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper, and signed a farewell letter to her, signing it, "From Your Valentine," a phrase that has lived on in Valentine's Day cards. He was executed on February 14, 270 A.D. It wasn't until the 14th century that Saint Valentine's Day became associated with love, however. Some accounts credit Chaucer with being the first to link Saint Valentine's Day with romance. In medieval France and England, it was believed that birds mated on February 14, and Chaucer used this image as the symbol of lovers in poems dedicated to that day. By the Middle Ages, Valentine had become one of the most popular saints in England and France. Attempts by the Catholic Church to sanctify the holiday by removing its association with romance and courtship were unsuccessful, and the holiday evolved over the centuries. By the 18th century, gift-giving and the exchanging of hand-made valentine cards made of lace and ribbon, and featuring cupids and hearts, were in vogue, and this tradition spread to the American colonies. It wasn't until the 1840s that Valentine's Day greeting cards were commercially produced in the United States, and the company wasn't Hallmark.
For single young men and women the Roman festival of Lupercalia was also a dating lottery. The name of marriageable girls were inscribed on metal tags and placed in a box. Each young man would pick a tag at random and then would have to live for a year with the girl he had picked. If the couple got on well they would marry after a year and then they could go through the Lupercal fertility custom of being smeared with blood from skinned goats. Happy Valentines Day.
Hi Ruth! I am not too sure if I like the Lupercal custom! Now if after a year the couple decided that the did not want to marry, but the lady had or is expecting a child, what then? Forced marriage or "off with his head?"
I'm thinking that pregnancy would be sufficient evidence that the couple did 'get on' with each other, so the marriage would have to take place. I think in those days staying single was not an option for most people.
Thanks for the history lesson behind Valentine's Day @Ken Anderson. Valentine's Day, along with Thanksgiving remains my favorite Holidays each year. I have fond memories of making Valentine Boxes in school to hold all the Valentine's received on this day. In most of the Elementary Schools I attended the Teachers made sure parents understood that their children had to give a Valentine to each student in the class...there were no just picking just your friends or those you liked to only give Valentine's too. And of course we always had a party with Valentine candy, cupcakes, and some kind of sweet drink on Valentine's Day too. Way back then most of our Valentine's were handmade and there were extra special ones made for those we were sweet on and our friends...but everyone did get a Valentine at least. In my later years some of the teachers didn't insist that everyone had to make sure they gave everyone in the class a Valentine and I saw the hurt on some faces, maybe even mine a few times when the boxes we made to hold our Valentine's wasn't as full as someone else's. I don't really remember if my box held fewer than other's...but I do remember the hurt on some student's faces and that has stuck with me all these years and taught me a valuable lesson. To always do my best to try and never be the cause of the hurt on someone's face. In my teenage years Valentine's Day changed to giving Valentine's to those who were very special family and friends...and maybe a "puppy love" boyfriend. Class parties, etc. were a thing of the past too. Now days on Valentine's Day I give Valentine Cards and candy to my husband, my children and grandchildren. They each get their own special card but I buy a bag of candy for each daughter's family to enjoy so it doesn't get to expensive. My husband gets his own bag of Reese's peanut butter cups in heart shapes. I used to bake Heart cakes and cupcakes...but that has mostly come to a stop in my older age. I love saying "I love you" to my family and friends...and I love giving Valentine love hugs to those I love too. I just LOVE giving love on Valentine's Day...and every day I get the chance to do just that.
We are getting close to Valentine’s Day again, and the stores already have all of the pretty valentine hearts and decorations out, as well as Easter candy . It seems like they start the advertising and sales for each holiday so early now that we get 2-3 of them run together, instead of each holiday having its own special time. We got an email from Waffle House reminding us that we need to get reservations for Valentine’s Day meals in as soon as possible , to ensure we have seating. For anyone who doesn’t know about Waffle House, here is a picture.
We have IHOPs here, but no Waffle House. My wife works in town, so I can have flowers delivered there. No delivery out this far, but since I retired and she now does seasonal tax work, I can have them delivered to her office.
WE ignore Valentines day... but yes we started seeing Valentines day stuff in the shops on Boxing day...now THAT is ridiculous!!
I’ll be spending Valentines Day driving to my daughter’s. She and her hubby are going to Vegas for a dental thing until Sunday. So I’m watching Nicholas....think I’ll surprise him with a bag of goodies.
I am pretty sure that we are ignoring Valentine’s Day as well. Bobby did not look overly impressed with the idea of Waffle House, and said it would be crowded; so probably, staying home is on our schedule, also.
First, do you give a card and/or a gift and go out to dinner on Valentines Day? From what I remember, I've always given my wife a nice Hallmark card and some kind of stuffed toy or animated toy gift. Twitty Bird who said cute Valentines Day things, a Teddy Bear holding a Red Heart that says LOVE on it, a dog that say "Shout" with "I really love you" in the song. She's figured out something to give me as well. And then, there's that Valentines Day Dinner (out) that we really look forward to. Well, this year, different. We agreed, no stuffed toy or anything like it. Instead...…..I just order each of us a diecast model of our very first car: Mine was a 1956 Chevy Bel Air, that I bought in March 1968 for $75. It was sitting in a corn field, had to have some engine work, but got it going. It had scratched paint on it, so we (myself and a couple of neighbor farmer boys) painted it Royal Maroon. The paint sprayer we were going to use broke down, so we ended up painting the entire car with paint brushes. Yes...….paint brushes. What a sight! Even though it was her second car, she absolutely loved her 1978 Blue Pontiac Firebird. And, that's what I got her. However, there was no hardtop available, like she had, so had to get her the T-Top type. We will display both of them in a Clear Plastic Show Box, that is specifically made for displaying diecast models of cars/trucks.
We don't bother with cards and especially anything like a stuffed toy!! Good lord? ...how many of those must your wife have all over the house now Cody if you've always given them to her? WE go out for dinner but usually a few days before or after to avoid the crowded restaurants.. Your model cars?.. I'm kinda dumbstruck, I thought you were saving every penny for your move?.. £150 dollars is nothing to be sneezed at , surely you could have got those after you've moved home and used that money towards your intended move?...still, it's your business...