Valentine's Day
- Tuesday, the 14th of February.
Valentine’s Day is the second largest day for sending cards
after Christmas Day and is celebrated in most countries with a strong Christian
tradition... By far the majority of cards are purchased by women. although the
far more men buy chocolates at this time.
It is not known exactly who St Valentine was - there are several early Christian
martyrs called Valentine, and they any of them (or all of them) could be the
inspiration for naming the day. February 14 was originally a Roman festival,
celebrating the god of fertility, called the Feast of Lupercalia. Young women'
would randomly be paired with bachelors for a year, these arrangements often
leading to marriages. This festival was felt to be un-Christian and banned, and
Pope Gelasius I created a competing Christian festival named in honor of St
Valentine in 496 Ad. It was deleted from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints’
Days in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.
The popularity of Valentine’s Day has not been as constant as that of Christmas
Day, and has grown and fallen over the ages, although it has probably at its
most popular currently.
During the Middle Ages it was widely believed that February 14 was the start of
birds' nesting season (it was close to the official start of spring) and this
helped to cement its association with young lovers and romance. A tradition of
sending a Valentine’s Day message seems to have grown, and there is still a
Valentine in existence today which was sent by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his
wife while he was held prisoner in the Tower of London, after the battle of
Agincourt.
A tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day grew up and by the middle of the 18th
century it became common in England to exchange small tokens and handwritten
notes. By the turn of that century it was becoming more popular to exchange
specially printed cards as these had become relatively inexpensive due to
changes in technology.
Its romantic tradition can be linked to the poet Geoffrey Chaucer at a time when
the tradition of romantic courtly love was popular, and this link has remained
strong.
In America it also became popular at about the same time as England or shortly
after. Esther A. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, began marketing
the first mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards in America between 1840 and 1850.
Ironically, Esther Howland never married.
Also in America there was the infamous St Valentine’s Day massacre where Al
Capone was involved in the murder of 7 members of a rival gang during the
Prohibition era.
A recent movie called Valentine’s Day was filmed starring Julia Roberts. It is a
romantic comedy.
Like Christmas, Valentine’s Day has become very popular as an opportunity to
market gifts and celebratory dinners as well as flowers and especially ornate
gifts of chocolate, although it does not cover whole families as Christmas does
and the gifts . Many couples get engaged or married on Valentine’s Day. tend to
be less expensive... The symbols of the red heart and cupid are strongly
associated with Valentine’s Day.
games and ecards to celebrate this day are available on the internet, although
it is difficult to remain anonymous when using this medium. Google displays many
different search topics starting with Valentine’s Day.
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