Every February, across the country,
candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged
between loved ones, all in the name
of St. Valentine. But who is this
mysterious saint and why do we celebrate
this holiday? The history of Valentine's
Day -- and its patron saint -- is
shrouded in mystery. But we do know
that February has long been a month
of romance. St. Valentine's Day,
as we know it today, contains vestiges
of both Christian and ancient Roman
tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine
and how did he become associated
with this ancient rite? Today, the
Catholic Church recognizes at least
three different saints named Valentine
or Valentinus, all of whom were
martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine
was a priest who served during the
third century in Rome. When Emperor
Claudius II decided that single
men made better soldiers than those
with wives and families, he outlawed
marriage for young men -- his crop
of potential soldiers. Valentine,
realizing the injustice of the decree,
defied Claudius and continued to
perform marriages for young lovers
in secret. When Valentine's actions
were discovered, Claudius ordered
that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine
may have been killed for attempting
to help Christians escape harsh
Roman prisons where they were often
beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine
actually sent the first 'valentine'
greeting himself. While in prison,
it is believed that Valentine fell
in love with a young girl -- who
may have been his jailor's daughter
-- who visited him during his confinement.
Before his death, it is alleged
that he wrote her a letter, which
he signed 'From your Valentine,'
an expression that is still in use
today. Although the truth behind
the Valentine legends is murky,
the stories certainly emphasize
his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic,
and, most importantly, romantic
figure. It's no surprise that by
the Middle Ages, Valentine was one
of the most popular saints in England
and France.
While some believe that Valentine's
Day is celebrated in the middle
of February to commemorate the anniversary
of Valentine's death or burial --
which probably occurred around 270
A.D -- others claim that the Christian
church may have decided to celebrate
Valentine's feast day in the middle
of February in an effort to 'christianize'
celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia
festival. In ancient Rome, February
was the official beginning of spring
and was considered a time for purification.
Houses were ritually cleansed by
sweeping them out and then sprinkling
salt and a type of wheat called
spelt throughout their interiors.
Lupercalia, which began at the ides
of February, February 15, was a
fertility festival dedicated to
Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture,
as well as to the Roman founders
Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members
of the Luperci, an order of Roman
priests, would gather at the sacred
cave where the infants Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome, were
believed to have been cared for
by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests
would then sacrifice a goat, for
fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's
hide into strips, dipped them in
the sacrificial blood and took to
the streets, gently slapping both
women and fields of crops with the
goathide strips. Far from being
fearful, Roman women welcomed being
touched with the hides because it
was believed the strips would make
them more fertile in the coming
year. Later in the day, according
to legend, all the young women in
the city would place their names
in a big urn. The city's bachelors
would then each choose a name out
of the urn and become paired for
the year with his chosen woman.
These matches often ended in marriage.
Pope Gelasius declared February
14 St. Valentine's Day around 498
A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system
for romantic pairing was deemed
un-Christian and outlawed. Later,
during the Middle Ages, it was commonly
believed in France and England that
February 14 was the beginning of
birds' mating season, which added
to the idea that the middle of February
-- Valentine's Day -- should be
a day for romance. The oldest known
valentine still in existence today
was a poem written by Charles, Duke
of Orleans to his wife while he
was imprisoned in the Tower of London
following his capture at the Battle
of Agincourt. The greeting, which
was written in 1415, is part of
the manuscript collection of the
British Library in London, England.
Several years later, it is believed
that King Henry V hired a writer
named John Lydgate to compose a
valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day
began to be popularly celebrated
around the seventeenth century.
By the middle of the eighteenth
century, it was common for friends
and lovers in all social classes
to exchange small tokens of affection
or handwritten notes. By the end
of the century, printed cards began
to replace written letters due to
improvements in printing technology.
Ready-made cards were an easy way
for people to express their emotions
in a time when direct expression
of one's feelings was discouraged.
Cheaper postage rates also contributed
to an increase in the popularity
of sending Valentine's Day greetings.
Americans probably began exchanging
hand-made valentines in the early
1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland
began to sell the first mass-produced
valentines in America.
According to the Greeting Card
Association, an estimated one billion
valentine cards are sent each year,
making Valentine's Day the second
largest card-sending holiday of
the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion
cards are sent for Christmas.)
Approximately 85 percent of all
valentines are purchased by women.
In addition to the United States,
Valentine's Day is celebrated in
Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom,
France, and Australia.
Valentine greetings were popular
as far back as the Middle Ages (written
Valentine's didn't begin to appear
until after 1400), and the oldest
known Valentine card is on display
at the British Museum. The first
commercial Valentine's Day greeting
cards produced in the U.S. were
created in the 1840s by Esther A.
Howland. Howland, known as the Mother
of the Valentine, made elaborate
creations with real lace, ribbons
and colorful pictures known as "scrap".
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