Valentine's Day Special

The early history of St. Valentine’s Day has two separate aspects and there are several versions of the origin of the holiday.

 

The generally accepted story states that during the reign of the Emperor Claudius II, there was a Priest in Rome who befriended young couples, and encouraged them to marry. This infuriated the Emperor, who felt that a married soldier would not give his primary allegiance to him, but to his wife! The Priest, Valentinus, was ordered to cease these actions, but he persisted in ministering to the young lovers, and even attempted to convert the Emperor to Christianity! Angered at this, the Emperor sentenced Valentinus to be beheaded. While awaiting his execution, it is said that Valentinus befriended the blind daughter of the jailer, and even restored her sight. It is also said that on the evening of his execution, he wrote a note to this young girl, which he simply signed, "Your Valentine" — and that, in the year 276 AD, is believed to have been the very first Valentine!

 

In that early era in Rome, there existed many popular Pagan customs celebrated at festivals such as The Feast of Lupercalia — basically "the rites of spring". During the celebration, "lots" were drawn from an urn on a sacred altar of love, and the selected name would be the lover, or partner for the year. Because there was feasting, dancing and raucous merrymaking, it was an exceptionally popular festival. When the Romans occupied Britain, they carried their Pagan customs with them — including this popular Feast of Lupercalia. As Christianity began to take hold in England, a great effort was made to banish these customs. This festival occurred at the same time of year as the martyrdom of the patron of lovers, Valentinus, and since it would have been very difficult to ban such a popular feast, the name was changed to honor that Saint. Thus, Saint Valentine’s Day became the reinvention of this old Pagan holiday!

 

Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday for people, who fell in love. This day they present each other with valentines – greeting cards with poems to declare their love. The first written valentine is usually attributed to the imprisoned Charles, Duke of Orleans. In 1415, Charles fought his lonely confinement by writing romantic verses for his wife. By the sixteenth century written valentines were so common that St. Francis de Sales, fearing for the souls of his English flock, sermonized against them. Manufactured cards, decorated with cupids and hearts, appeared near the end of the eighteenth century. A purchased valentine became the most popular way to declare love during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Miniature works of art, the cards were usually hand painted and were often lavishly decorated with laces, silk or satin, flowers (made from the feathers of tropical birds), glass filigrees, gold-leaf or even perfumed sachets!

St. Valentine's Day greeting cards are still very popular, but red roses and chocolate candies now often accompany the card. And the card itself has changed quite a bit...recent developments include cards that play romantic music; let you record a romantic message; even "scratch-and-sniff" cards!

Approximately one billion Valentine cards are exchanged each year which makes Valentine’s day the second largest seasonal card-selling occasion only beaten by Christmas.

Most Valentine's Day cards (83%) are bought by women. However, the number of cards purchased by men is gradually rising – it is thought to be due to the fact that men often buy two cards for their significant others: an amusing one and the obligatory romantic one which they believe is expected of them.

 

Half of all consumers prefer to receive a humorous Valentine card and one third likes to get a romantic greeting. More than one-third of women and about a fifth of men prefer to receive a romantic Valentine. 13% of males prefer a sexy Valentine card, whereas only 3.5% of women appreciate this kind.