valentines

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ThehistoryofValentine’sDay–andthestoryofitspatronsaint–isshroudedin

owthatFebruaryhaslongbeencelebratedasamonthofromance,

ine’sDay,asweknowittoday,containsvestigesofbothChristian

wasSaintValentine,andhowdidhebecome

associatedwiththisancientrite?

DidYouKnow?

Approximately150millionValentine'sDaycardsareexchangedannually,making

Valentine'sDaythecondmostpopularcard-ndingholidayafterChristmas.

TheCatholicChurchrecognizesatleastthreedifferentsaintsnamedValentineor

Valentinus,endcontendsthatValentinewasa

perorClaudiusII

decidedthatsinglemenmadebettersoldiersthanthowithwivesandfamilies,he

ine,realizingtheinjusticeofthedecree,

def

Valentine’sactionswerediscovered,Claudiusorderedthathebeputtodeath.

OtherstoriessuggestthatValentinemayhavebeenkilledforattemptingtohelp

ChristianscapeharshRomanprisons,wheretheywereoftenbeatenandtortured.

Accordingtoonelegend,animprisonedValentineactuallyntthefirst―valentine‖

greetinghimlfafterhefellinlovewithayounggirl–possiblyhisjailor’s

daughter–hisdeath,itisallegedthat

hewroteheralettersigned―FromyourValentine,‖anexpressionthatisstillinu

ghthetruthbehindtheValentinelegendsismurky,thestoriesall

emphasizehisappealasasympathetic,heroicand–mostimportantly–romanticfigure.

BytheMiddleAges,perhapsthankstothisreputation,Valentinewouldbecomeone

ofthemostpopularsaintsinEnglandandFrance.

OriginsofValentine’sDay:APaganFestivalin

February

WhilesomebelievethatValentine’sDayiscelebratedinthemiddleofFebruaryto

commemoratetheanniversaryofValentine’sdeathorburial–whichprobably

occurredaroundA.D.270–othersclaimthattheChristianchurchmayhavedecidedto

ine’sfeastdayinthemiddleofFebruaryinaneffortto―Christianize‖

atedattheidesofFebruary,orFebruary

15,LupercaliawasafertilityfestivaldedicatedtoFaunus,theRomangodof

agriculture,aswellastotheRomanfoundersRomulusandRemus.

Tobeginthefestival,membersoftheLuperci,anorderofRomanpriests,would

gatheratasacredcavewheretheinfantsRomulusandRemus,thefoundersofRome,

estswould

sacrificeagoat,forfertility,andadog,uldthenstripthe

goat’shideintostrips,dipthemintothesacrificialbloodandtaketothestreets,gently

mbeingfearful,

Romanwomenwelcomedthetouchofthehidesbecauitwasbelievedtomake

ntheday,accordingtolegend,allthe

y’sbachelors

wouldeachchooanameandbecomepairedfortheyearwithhischonwoman.

Thematchesoftenendedinmarriage.

Valentine’sDay:ADayofRomance

LupercaliasurvivedtheinitialriofChristianityandbutwasoutlawed—asitwas

deemed―un-Christian‖–attheendofthe5thcentury,whenPopeGelasiusdeclared

ine’otuntilmuchlater,however,thattheday

theMiddleAges,itwascommonly

believedinFranceandEnglandthatFebruary14wasthebeginningofbirds’mating

ason,whichaddedtotheideathatthemiddleofValentine’sDayshouldbeaday

forromance.

ValentinegreetingswerepopularasfarbackastheMiddleAges,thoughwritten

Valentine’sdidn’estknownvalentinestillin

existencetodaywasapoemwrittenin1415byCharles,DukeofOrleans,tohiswife

whilehewasimprisonedintheTowerofLondonfollowinghiscaptureattheBattle

ofAgincourt.(ThegreetingisnowpartofthemanuscriptcollectionoftheBritish

LibraryinLondon,England.)Severalyearslater,itisbelievedthatKingHenryV

hiredawriternamedJohnLydgatetocompoavalentinenotetoCatherineof

Valois.

TypicalValentine’sDayGreetings

InadditiontotheUnitedStates,Valentine’sDayiscelebratedinCanada,Mexico,the

UnitedKingdom,tBritain,Valentine’sDaybegantobe

iddleofthe18th,itwas

commonforfriendsandloversofallsocialclasstoexchangesmalltokensof

affectionorhandwrittennotes,andby1900printedcardsbegantoreplacewritten

-madecardswereaneasy

wayforpeopletoexpresstheiremotionsinatimewhendirectexpressionofone’s

rpostageratesalsocontributedtoanincreainthe

popularityofndingValentine’sDaygreetings.

Ame

the1840s,dbeganllingthefirstmass-producedvalentinesin

d,knownasthe―MotheroftheValentine,‖madeelaboratecreations

withreallace,ribbonsandcolorfulpicturesknownas―scrap.‖Today,accordingto

theGreetingCardAssociation,anestimated1billionValentine’sDaycardsarent

eachyear,makingValentine’sDaythecondlargestcard-ndingholidayofthe

year.(Anestimated2.6billioncardsarentforChristmas.)Womenpurcha

approximately85percentofallvalentines.