About Valentine's Day

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Saint Valentines Day commemorates the work of Bishop Valentine, who died in 269 AD. At that time, Christianity was not a significant faith (that changed in 361 AD), and the Roman Empire ruled one-quarter of the world's population.

The Romans decided married men did not make good soldiers because they always wanted to return to their families. Their solution? Outlaw marriage. Bishop Valentine was imprisoned for performing marriages. Couples used to pass notes through his cell window (why we send Valentines), and he'd marry them in secret. Eventually, Emperor Claudius ordered Bishop Valentine executed for his part in illegally marrying men and women. However, the order was primarily because the bishop tried to convert the emperor to Christianity.

In 496 AD Pope Gelasius declared February 14 Saint Valentine's Day to honor the anniversary of Bishop Valentine's martyrdom.

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people. The following is a longer explanation of the holiday.

THE WINDING ROAD TO VALENTINE'S DAY

Like many other feasts and celebrations in Christianity, Valentine's day incorporates ancient pagan holidays, in this case, Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a springtime celebration of renewal and a time of purification. Cleansing began at the Ides of February (the 15th) and continued for a few days, ending with the ritual slaughtering of goats or sheep for the gods of Rome, Romulus, and Remus. The festival provided offerings to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.

The Luperci, an ancient order of priests, led festival rituals and preserved their role in society by keeping the masses under control. Young boys were said to take strips of the slaughtered animal and slap the blood-soaked meat on crops and women to promote fertility and a bountiful harvest.

WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE

Practices evolved (thankfully) by the beginning of the Christian era. Rather than raw meat, young women placed their names in an urn, to which bachelors of any age would pick and become paired with that woman for the year. These lottery pairings often ended in marriage. The tradition went even further in the middle ages. Young men and women pinned names to their sleeves for a week to ward off suitors and seclude themselves with the person he or she desired. This practice is where the expression "wearing your heart on your sleeve" originated.

In 498 AD, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as Saint. Valentine's Day. Pairing by lottery was banned as un-Christian through clandestine celebrations continued into the middle-ages.

With the ascendency of Gaul (modern-day France) and Spain and England as Christian powers, the three countries inserted the realities of bird's mating seasons in the middle of February as proof and the need for a celebration of coupling and fertility. The ancient worship of mother earth and Druidism practiced by the ancient Celts was rolled into modern St. Valentine's celebrations in the lead-up to the equinox in March.

THE VALENTINE RENAISSANCE ROMANCE

The Duke of Orleans, Charles, captured in the battle of Agincourt in 1415 AD, sent a "greeting" to his wife from his prison cell in the Tower of London. Carefully written, he used the sentiment as a cover to communicate France's predicament to the King of France. His is considered the oldest Valentine card in existence. The English King Henry V later hired a writer to send a romantic note to Catherine of Valois.

Some attribute the flourishing of Valentine's affection to the father of British literature, Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400 AD, recorded the detailed mating rituals of birds to amuse the royal court. Ultimately, British King Henry VII declared February 14 as Saint Valentine's Day, formally ensconcing it into the modern calendar.

X'S & O'S

Valentine's day reached popularity in Britain by the middle of the 17th century with the proliferation of the printing press. The press allowed more people to hear authors like Chaucer through the town crier. Most people were illiterate, so upon completion of a note by a scribe, most signed with an "x." Signing with an X led to the letter being shorthand for a kiss.

In 1797, a primer for men called "The Young Man's Valentine's Writer" was published to help the linguistically challenged compose verse and poems of love for their intended. Some of the text was rather racy; pre-printed, it could be sent anonymously. Most cards, however, were still handmade, representing a higher station in life and an ability to provide a comfortable life for the chosen Valentine.

Americans began to send printed cards as postage rates became more affordable. Around 1840, a woman named Esther Howland created the first mass-produced Valentine's Day cards, citing her desire to help women gain an appreciation for their hard work and cultivate commitment from men.

ENTER THE AGE OF CONSUMERISM

Hallmark printed its first Valentine's Day card in 1913. Cards, flowers, chocolates, and jewelry are the most popular gifts purchased, with $20 billion annually spent on Valentine's Day.

FLOWERS

Giving flowers on Valentine's Day is believed to originate with a French princess who presented them to her lover on Valentine's Day. Flowers were unattainable to most people due to their cost and rarity until recently. As a symbol of love, the red rose, the favorite flower of the Roman goddess of love, Venus, was often chosen in the Victorian era. Positioning the flower as such did come with PR help from a Dutch florist.

CHOCOLATE

Richard Cadbury, in 1868, put his confections in a heart-shaped box and gave it to his daughter. He denied that it had anything to do with the holiday, but those who could afford such luxuries started to adopt it as a ritual along with hand-written and printed cards.

The Second World War and the boom in the economy catapulted Valentine's Day into popular culture. Suddenly nearly anyone could afford small gifts and cards. Today, men purchase 75 percent of all chocolate for Valentine's Day; women buy the majority of chocolate throughout the year.

Men tend to purchase lingerie, flowers, and chocolate within two days of February 14; women begin buying their special someone a gift by January 15, an entire month before the holiday. Women also tend to take care of themselves, with 15 percent admitting to buying flowers on Valentine's Day for themselves.

JEWELRY

During the 1980s, DeBeer's, the South African diamond conglomerate, saw an opportunity to extract revenue from an increasingly wealthy North American population by marketing diamonds and jewelry as a Valentine's Day gift option. The campaign was highly successful. DeBeer's is also the company that, in the 1930s, made the diamond essential for engagement rings.

Happy Valentine's Day.