Valentine's day
Valentine's day, February the 14th, is the day where lovers express their love for each other by sending cards, flowers, gifts and confectionary. Valentine's day was originally a pagan holiday, which was renamed after Valentine, Christian martyr. Valentine's day became associated with romantic love during the High Middle Ages (the 11th, 12th and 13tn centuries).
The name Valentine was held by numerous Christian martyrs, and the Catholic Church recognised eleven Valentine's days up until 1969. Today's date, February 14th, comes from at least two martyrs, Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Tenri. Valentine of Rome was a priest who suffered matrydom around AD 269. Valentine of Tenri became bishop of Interemna (now Tenri) and is believed to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian in AD 275. Both are buried in the same place. The Catholic Encyclopedia gives reference to a possible third Valentine, who was martyred in Africa. Neither Valentine's have any reference to any sort of romance, and when Valentine's day was more well known as a romantic holiday from the 14th century onwards, all distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Tenri were lost.
The 1969 revision of the Catholic Calender of Saints saw the removal of Saint Valentine's Day from the General Roman calender and the relegation of this day to particular calaneders. The reason for this was that not much was known about Saint Valentine, save that he was buried on February the 14th. Saint Valentine's day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) and by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the pre-Vatican II order.
According to one source, a Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and was interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II, who tried to get him to convert to Roman paganism to save his life. Valentine would not convert, and was executed for trying to convert Claudius II to Christianity. Valentine is reported to have performed a miracle by bringing sight to a blind girl. There was still no romantic link to Saint Valentine. Appropriate modern lore portrays Saint Valentine as a priest who refused an attested law by Claudius II that all men must remain single, as Claudius II believed that married men made poor soldiers. Valentine secretly performed marriages for these young men, which landed Valentine in jail. It is believed that Valentine wrote the first "valentine" himself, writing a short note to the blind girl he cured. It simply stated "from your Valentine".
Valentine's day is also thought to have came from the ancient, Roman pastoral festival, Lupercalia, observed February 13-15, and was an archaic rite connected to fertility. In the ancient Athenian calender, the period between mid January and mid February celebrated the marriage of Zues and Hera.
Some claim that the first recording of Valentine's day as a romantic holiday is due to a piece written by Geoffrey Chaucer, which reads For this was on seynt Volantynys day, Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make. This poem was written to celebrate the engagement of King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia. Readers assumed that Chaucer was refering to February 14th, even though that date is an unlikely time of the year for birds to be mating. In the liturgial calender, however, May 2 was the saint day for Saint Valentine of Genoa, a bishop who died in AD 307.
A High Court of Love was formed in Paris in 1400, which dealt with marriages, betrayals and violence against women. The earliest surviving valentine is a fifteenth century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his "valentined" wife
The reinvention of Valentine's day into the day it is now occured in the 1840s. In the US, the first mass produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold in 1847, by Esther Howland, who took inspiration from an English valentine she had recieved, showing that Valentine's day was popular in Britain before the US. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have given way to mass produced greeting cards. In the 20th century the practice of exchanging cards applied to all manner of gifts, such as roses and chocolates, and later, jewellery. Valentine's day is also referred to as Singles Awareness Day as a joke.
There are similar days to Valentine's day all around the world. Valentine's day has regional traditions in the UK. In Wales St Dwynwen's day is celebrated on January 25th, instead of or as well as Valentine's day on February 14th. St Dwynwen was the patron saint of Welsh lovers. In France and Spain Valentine's day is celebrated much the same as it is in the UK, with particular differences relating to place. In Portugal Valentine's day is referred to as Dia Dos Nomorados, or Boyfriend/Girlfriend day. In Denmark and Norway Valentine's day is not largely celebrated, but many do take time out to share a special meal or send gifts to their partner. In Sweden it is called All Heart's Day and was launched in the 1960s by flower corporations under influence from the US. The Finland version of Valentine's day translates to "friend's day", and is more for all friends and not just lovers. The day has a similar meaning in Estonia. A Slovenian proverb states that "St Valentine brings the key of roots", so on February 14th all the plants start to grow. It is also believed that birds propose to each other on this day. However, that day has only recently been known as the day of love, because the day of love was traditionally St Gregory's day, on March 12. The traditional holiday of love in Romania is celebrated on February the 24th. There are many other celebrations similar to Valentine's day.