Valentines means candy, chocolates, perfume, red hearts, balloons, and more. Have you ever wondered when the celebration first originated? Well in ancient Rome, February heralded the coming to spring a time for rejuvenation, fertility, and growth.
In ancient times, Romans celebrated in February a festival to honor the god of fertility who provided them with progeny and ensured a god crop. In Rome February 15th was celebrated as the feast of Lupercalla and Feb 14th as a holiday in honor of Juno the queen of Roman gods and goddesses. On the eve of Lupercalla a glass jar was filled to the brim with chits on which were penned the names of all eligible girls. Then young men would draw a chit each from the jar and the girl whose name was on the chit would be his partner for the celebration. This was a method by which ancient Romans introduced eligible boys and girls to one another.
Much later in the 3rd century BCE when Emperor Claudius II ruled Rome there lived a priest called Valentine. And when Claudius passed a decree that young men in his empire were not to marry, Valentine defied him and used to consecrate marriages secretly. He was sentenced to death and thrown into prison. While awaiting his execution Valentine penned a letter to his love and signed it “from your Valentine." After his death Valentine became a martyr and saint and was popularly known as St Valentine.
Wonderful legends are woven around Valentine’s Day. In Wales young people exchanged as gifts wooden spoons which were hand carved with decorations of hearts and key holes. The decorations conveyed “you hold the key to my heart or you unlock my heart." In other places women were given gifts of clothes and if they accepted the gift then it conveyed that they were wiling to marry the man who has sent the gift.
In 1415, Charles, the Duke of Orleans is known to have penned, from his prison in the tower of London , what were known as “poetical amorous addresses" to his wife in France, he is believed to be one of the earliest creators of valentines.
Just as companies like Hallmark sell cards for Valentines Day in the 15th century people bought little booklets with verse in them ---they then made their own valentines using the verse to express their thoughts. For example a valentine could have the hand drawn illustration of a knight and his lady with Cupid the god of love shooting arrows into the knight’s heart.
In the US it was after 1723, that popularity of the celebration grew. People imported the “booklets of verse" all the way from England and copied the verses on to gilt edged papers. Then a Ms. Ester Howard in around 1830 decided to be original and create American Valentines that were marketed as Worcester Valentines.
Since then with changing centuries and tastes the celebration has taken on new hues with young men and women, children, as well as older couples creating newer ways to celebrate and declare their undying love.
The Origin Of Valentines Day
Ahh, Valentine's Day. It comes every February 14th, and men all over the country stop and pick up the obligatory dozen roses, piece of jewelry, or box of chocolates. But did you ever wonder about some of the early traditions of Valentine's Day? And no, Valentine's Day was not created by the department stores to get men to spend more money on jewelry.
For example, in the middle ages, men and women would draw names to see who their valentines were. Then for the next week, they would wear these names on their sleeve. Now wearing your heart on your sleeve means that it's easy for other people to know your feelings.
In Wales carved wooden love spoons were given as gifts on Valentine's Day. The most popular decorations were hearts, keyholes, and keys. The decorations meant, ?You unlock my heart.?
In some countries, a young woman would receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If the woman kept the gift, it meant she'll marry him.
It was believed that if a woman saw a robin flying on Valentine's Day she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she'd marry a poor man and be very happy. And if she saw a goldfinch, she'd marry a millionaire.
And have you ever wondered where the tradition of giving Valentine's Day cards began? The first valentine was sent by the Duke of Orleans after being captured in 1415. He sent it to his wife. Commercially, valentines were first produced by Esther Howland in the 1840s. She sold $5,000 in cards during her first year, an incredible amount of money at the time. Today over a billion valentines are sent each year to teachers, children, wives, and sweethearts, and are mostly purchased by women.
Giving flowers on Valentine's Day can be traced back to the 1700s in Sweden when Charles II brought the Persian poetical art called ?The Language of Flowers? to Europe. Throughout the 18th century, floral lexicons were published, allowing an entire conversation to take place with a bouquet of flowers.
Both Paul Wilson & Gary Ruplinger are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Paul Wilson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Interview Questions and Hotels and Hostels. Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for an. Paul Wilson's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
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