February 14th, the holiday of Love! Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. 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. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. Here are a few possiblites of the source of this wonderful day... Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. During this time around 270 A.D., emperor Claudius ll prohibited marriages for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and ordered by Claudius to be put to death. This St. Valentine could be postumously recognized for his commitment to the formal bonds of love. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius; fell in love with the daughter of his jailer who visited him during confinement. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine" an expression that is still used today. This may have been the first Valentines Day. And another plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on Eros(passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Thus the love of Valentine's day may have originally been a devotion to one's god, rather than one's human partner. It could be that we celebrate Valentines Day on the 14th because this is the day that a St. Valentine died. However, some believe that the celebration of Valentines Day was an attempt by the Church to civilize the celebration of the pagan Lupercalia festival. The Festival was held on the 15th of February. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D., and the Lupercalia festival was outlawed. The oldest known written valentine note still in existence is a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The greeting, written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London. And this tradition continues strongly today: 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.) 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", similar to the one's schoolchildren accross the country make every year. And Who is this Cupid? Another valentine icon you may be wondering about is Cupid (Latin cupido, "desire"). In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love. The Romans believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell, as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis. Her son Cupid, while being stung by a bee, shot arrows in the rose garden; the sting of the arrows became thorns. Venus pricked her foot on a thorn, and the droplets of blood dyed the roses red. Sending Roses on Valentines Day Why should you send roses to your loved one this Valentines Holiday? The rose is the symbol of love, of magic, of hope, and of passion, perfect to let your loved one know how you feel about him or her! The rose represents ultimate beauty and perfection. It is the messenger of Romance! A dozen red roses remains the classic Valentine's Day favorite (though chocolate may secretly be the more cherished gift). However, many women report that they adore roses in other colors just as much. There are hundreds of colors to choose from. The choices are endless and it's easier than ever to select a rose that is as unique as your sweetheart. However you celebrate this Valentine's day, we hope we've been able to shed a little light on it's possible origins! |
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