History of Valentine's Day

Who was St. Valentine and why we celebrate Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day History

We know that February has long been a month of romance as candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of Valentines Day.

Retailers adorn their stores and shop windows with romantic symbols and colors of red that remind us it's that time of the year. It's a fun day for everyone to express love and admiration for one another. Restaurants are crowded with sweethearts sharing a romantic dinner, movie theaters are packed with couples florist are busy delivering flowers.

But how did we come to celebrate Valentines Day. The history of Valentines Day and its patron saint, St. Valentine a priest who served during the third century in Rome, is said to be cloaked in mystery. Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

There are several version of the story of St. Valentine, so know one really knows which legendary tale is the truth. Although the stories maybe cloudy, they all seem to emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure.

There are also various reason and explanations of why Valentines Day is on the 14th of February. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D., as a result of a Roman ritual between young men and women that often ended in marriage.

While during the Middle Ages, it was often 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 should be a day for romance.

Valentines Day didn't become popular until around the seventeenth century in Great Britain. It wasn't until the middle of the eighteenth century, that it became common for friends and lovers to exchange small symbols of affection or handwritten notes. So by the end of the century, printed cards started to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology.

In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines card in America. Today an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, according to the Greeting Card Association, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year next to Christmas.

The symbols and traditions of Valentines Day have grown since the introduction of Valentines Day cards. It's even more common today to send red roses which symbolize romance and true love, give chocolates and other small gifts like teddy bears.

Valentine's Day is certainly a big tradition in America today, and is not just an exchange of gifts between lovers or secret admirers. Parents, teachers, siblings, and friends also exchange and give Valentine's Day cards and gifts as an expression of fondness and love.

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