The story of Valentine’s Day
Around the globe, on February 14, many flowers, playing cards and presents shall be exchanged between family members, on the event of the celebration of Valentine’s Day.
Nonetheless, the story of why we have a good time at the present time is a little bit of a thriller.
The Valentine’s Day custom mixes components of historic Roman rites and Christian custom. Simply to complicate issues additional, three totally different saints referred to as Valentine are acknowledged by the Catholic Church.
A legend says that Valentine was a priest in Rome within the third century. Emperor Claudius II decreed that marriage must be forbidden for younger males, as he believed single males made higher troopers than those that have been married with households.
Valentine, felt that the decree was unfair and unjust, and defied the emperor by performing secret marriages for younger lovers. When his actions for the undercover lovers have been found, Claudius ordered Valentin to be executed. Variants of this legend say that Valentine was put to demise for attempting to assist different Christians escape from the cruel Roman prisons the place they have been typically tortured.
In keeping with one other legend, Valentine truly despatched the primary “valentine” to greet one another in 270 AD the day earlier than his execution for refusing to resign his Christian beliefs. He reportedly despatched a notice of due to his jailer’s blind daughter for bringing him meals and delivering messages to him throughout his imprisonment, signed “out of your Valentine”.
Though we are able to by no means make sure of the true origin of the legend of Saint Valentine, one factor is definite, it will need to have been a lovely and enduring story as a result of within the Center Ages Valentine had turn out to be probably the most standard in France. and Brittany.
The temporal observance of his saint’s day might have been prompted by the frequent apply of attempting to suit earlier pagan festivals into the Christian calendar. on this case, the Lupercalia pageant.
In historic Rome, February was thought of the start of spring and was thought of a time of purification. Homes have been ritually cleaned by sweeping them, then sprinkling salt and wheat inside (we nonetheless confer with spring cleansing to at the present time).
Lupercalia, which started on the ‘Ides (February 15)’, was a fertility pageant devoted to the agricultural god Lupercus and the goddess of affection, Juno, in addition to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Younger Roman women positioned their names in an urn arrange in public squares and single younger males dipped into it to acquire a “blind date” for the approaching 12 months. Most of the time, these annual matches typically led to a marriage.
Valentine’s Day was set for February 14 by Pope Gelasius, round 500 AD. At the moment, the “lottery” system for relationship was thought of unchristian and was banned. Within the Center Ages, the apply of affection lotteries continued beneath the title of “likelihood field”. In France, field attracts gave {couples} a 12 months to marry or separate. In England, it was frequent apply for males to put on the title of the woman they pulled from fortunate packing containers on their sleeve, surrounded by a coronary heart.
Additionally at the moment, it was broadly believed in elements of England and France that February 14 marked the beginning of the mating season for birds, which elevated the concept Valentine’s Day must be a day of romance.
Valentine’s Day messages started to appear across the flip of the fifteenth century, and even on this formative time they have been typically given anonymously, maybe harking back to the unknown recipients of Roman lotteries.
The earliest identified valentine nonetheless extant as we speak was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orléans to his spouse whereas imprisoned within the Tower of London following his seize on the Battle of Agincourt. The salutation, written in 1415, is a part of the manuscript assortment of the British Library in London.
Within the UK, Valentine’s Day turned a well-liked vacation across the 1600s. It continued to carry sway, with the acquainted verses “roses are crimson, violets are blue” making their debut within the seventeenth century. Within the 1850s, it was frequent for lovers of all social ranges to present their family members small presents or handwritten letters. On the identical time, in France, individuals began to embellish their valentines with ribbons and lace.
Within the early twentieth century, handwritten letters gave option to maps as advances in printing know-how had improved the standard of printed maps. On the time, it was culturally discouraged for individuals to indicate their feelings as immediately as a letter, so a printed card was a extra acceptable technique. Extra reasonably priced postage prices and rising use of the postal system have doubtless contributed to the rising recognition of the Valentine’s Day card.
Individuals most likely started buying and selling handmade valentines with worms within the early 1700s. Within the mid-Nineteenth century, the primary mass-produced valentines started to go on sale in America. Miss Esther Howland, artist and entrepreneur, turned the primary common valentines writer in america. Also known as ‘the mom of Valentine’, Miss Howland designed many elaborate creations utilizing lace, ribbons and colourful pictures often known as ‘scrap’. His playing cards often value between $5 and $10 every, with some going as excessive as $35, which was surprisingly costly for the time.
The Greeting Card Affiliation estimates that if we embrace youngsters’s class valentines, multiple billion valentine playing cards shall be opened this 12 months. Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-sending time of the 12 months, accounting for 25% of all seasonal card gross sales (Christmas accounts for 60%).
It is estimated that ladies purchase 80% of all Valentine’s Day playing cards, which suggests a big portion of males neglect or aren’t very romantic in terms of reciprocating! Valentine’s Day is well known in america, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, and Australia, and is gaining recognition in lots of different elements of the world.
Details About Valentine’s Day Playing cards (from the Greeting Card Affiliation)
About 25% of particular person Valentine’s Day playing cards are humorous, with adults aged 35 and beneath the most certainly to ship humorous playing cards. Valentine’s Day is the most important e-card sending event of the 12 months. An estimated 14 million e-valentines shall be despatched in 2008. Greeting playing cards are historically the preferred Valentine’s Day present in america, forward of sweets, flowers or dinners out. American males could also be extra critical about Valentine’s Day than ladies. In a nationwide survey for GCA in 2007, 45% of girls mentioned they have been doubtless to present their lover a humorous valentine, in comparison with simply 34% of males. The proportion of particular person valentines exchanged by mail in comparison with hand supply is roughly 50-50. Crimson is the preferred shade selection for Valentine’s Day playing cards, adopted by pink after which white. Hearts, roses, Cupid and lace are conventional icons of the Valentine’s Day card.
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