Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, is celebrated annually in the UK on 14^th February and it is seen as the most romantic day of the year. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be a nice idea to look briefly at its history as well as looking at the customs associated with it.

Where did it all begin?

Historians believe that the origins of Valentine’s Day began with the ancient Romans and is connected to a celebration called the feast of Lupercalia which was a fertility festival. Some believe that at the end of the 5^th century, Pope Gelasius 1st declared 14^th February as Valentine’s Day in order to make it a Christian celebration. As for the name, there were two saints connected to the feast day of 14^th February and both shared the same name, Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome.

It is not known which Valentine the day was dedicated to but it is widely believed that Valentine of Rome was a young priest who performed marriages for young lovers and he was supposed to have died on 14^th February. Much later, in 1382, a famous English writer, Geoffrey Chaucer, wrote a poem entitled ‘Parlement of Foules’ and it contained the first recorded example of St Valentine’s Day being connected to romance.

In 15^th century France, February 14^th became a feast day to celebrate love, and parties were held to celebrate the occasion. It was actually a Frenchman around this time who wrote the first known Valentine’s greeting down on paper. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and whilst awaiting his fate, he wrote a letter to his wife in French, which roughly translates as:

The first recorded Valentine’s message in English dates back to 1477 and was sent by Margery Brews to her lover John Paston. She described John as her ‘beloved Valentine.’ In the 17^th century, other writers including William Shakespeare mentioned Valentine’s Day in their works however, it was in the 18^th century that love poems started to regularly appear within nursery rhymes written for children:

The rose is red, the violet’s blue,

The honey’s sweet, and so are you.

The first Valentine’s cards were sent in the 18^th century and were handmade. It wasn’t until the Georgian period ( 1714 - 1830 ) that pre-printed cards became available. While the modern version of this day is connected with love and admiration, in the Victorian era ( 1837 – 1901 ), it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s card. In fact, many cards were used to tell the unlucky recipient that they were not loved! Known as ‘Vinegar Valentines’ these cards were actually designed to insult people and not every card was intended for rejected lovers. Others were sent to teachers and anyone whose behaviour was not liked by the sender. I would not want to receive one of these cards, would you?

According to the company Hallmark Cards UK, eight out of ten people will buy at least one card to give to the one they love on Valentine’s Day this year and romantic Brits spend around 1.6 billion pounds on cards and gifts every year. Many people send cards to their loved ones but others send anonymous cards to people they secretly admire. Sending cards anonymously is quite common within schools and this practice can be a lot of fun but also quite embarrassing for a young person, trying to work out who their secret admirer is!

As well as cards, people give flowers and chocolates to their loved ones on 14^th February. Men account for 73% of all flower sales in the UK. It is not surprising that flowers are the gift of choice on Valentine’s Day. For centuries, flowers have symbolised fertility, love, marriage, and romance. The history of giving flowers on 14th February comes from an old custom of sending bouquets to express messages. This was introduced in the 18th century by Charles II of Sweden, each flower had a specific meaning attached to it, making it possible to have an entire conversation using only flowers. Today, people continue to send flowers on special occasions or to express sentiments of love and admiration.

However, nowadays, many people prefer to send other items to show their love. There are now many websites offering advice on which Valentine’s presents to buy. Popular choices last year included: an mp3 player, a CD of romantic songs, a phone, jewellery, a photo frame or perfume.

Whether you love Valentine’s Day or hate it, there is no denying that it has a fascinating history. More importantly, humans have always gone to great lengths to demonstrate the depth of their feelings to those that they love. Whatever you do for Valentine’s Day, I hope that it is filled with kindness and compassion. Have fun!