Well it’s February again, and the day of romance quickly approaches… If you’re anything like me, perhaps you’ve thought to yourself a time or two, “why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day? Who is this Valentine, and what does he have to do with love, cards, flowers, jewelry, and chocolates?”  Well, wonder no more for I have set forth to find some answers, such as they are, for us!

The history of Valentine’s Day (or Saint Valentine’s Day as it should truly be written) is murky at best. The Catholic church recognizes at least 3 saints with the name Valentine or Valentinus, all with different, and somewhat unclear stories (at least, they were difficult to nail down online, perhaps with some serious, in depth research some clarity could be found, but I’m not planning on writing a research paper on the subject). All of these saints were martyrs, as saints so often are.

One Saint Valentine was a priest in the 3rd century in Rome. The Emperor at the time, Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than men with families. So he outlawed marriage for young men to create the ideal army. Valentine, however continued to perform marriages in secret for young lovers. When he was discovered, however, he was put to death. Thus he was a Saint for lovers.

Another story suggests that Valentine was killed for helping Christians escape from Roman prisons where they were being tortured.

In another legend, Valentine was believed to write the first Valentine greeting himself. While in prison, he fell in love with a young girl that came to visit him- perhaps the jailer’s daughter. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, signed “From your Valentine.” A phrase we still use today!

Who knows if any of these stories are actually true, but they certainly support the image of Saint Valentine as a sympathetic, heroic, and romantic character- very appealing to lovers across the centuries. In fact, as early as the Middle Ages, St. Valentine was one of the most popular saints in France and England. It’s believed that we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day in the middle of February to commemorate his death or burial. Unfortunately in the 30’s, the Catholic church revoked the sainthood of all of these saints due to a lack of historical evidence- thus it is no longer St. Valentine’s Day as celebrated by the church and only Valentine’s Day as popularly celebrated by the people that grew so attached to it.

Image of the Roman god, Faunus (half man, half goat!)

Of course, there is also quite a bit of evidence that Valentine’s Day was created by the Catholic church in an effort to “christianize” celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was considered the beginning of spring, which was a time for purification (which is where the tradition for spring cleaning comes from!). Lupercalia was a fertility festival in mid February dedicated to Faunas, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. On Lupercalia, priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. Boys would take strips of the goats hide dipped in the sacrificial blood and take to the streets gently slapping women and fields to encourage fertility in the year to come. Later, young, single women would place their name in a big urn from which bachelors would choose a name. The two would then be paired for a year- a year which usually ended in marriage.  Around the year 498 A.D. Pope Gelasius declared the celebration and lottery system “unchristian” and banned it, declaring in substitution St. Valentine’s Day on February 14th.

And where does cupid come in, you ask? Well, Cupid is the Ancient Roman god of erotic love and beauty… Need I say more?

Cupid

The oldest known Valentine is a poem by Charles, Duke of Orleans, written to his wife while he was detained in the Tower of London after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. It’s currently on display at the Royal British Museum.

By the 17th century, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated in Great Britain. By the mid 18th century, it was common for friends and lovers to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, Valentine’s Day was increasing in popularity to the point that printed cards were available and replaced their written versions. Printed cards were pretty popular because in general people were discouraged from directly expressing their feelings to each other.

A card by Esther A. Howland

Americans began to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the early 1700’s as well. In the 1840’s, Esther Howland began to create the first mass-produced Valentines in the States using real lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures. And thus, did Valentine’s Day get it’s start in becoming what we celebrate today. A day of Hallmark cards, flowers, and chocolates.

Today, the Greeting Card Association estimates that 1 billion Valentine’s cards are sold each year- the second biggest card buying holiday of the year (the first is Christmas!). Approximately 85% of these cards are purchased by women! However, on average, men typically spend twice as much as women on their Valentine’s gift. It’s even believed to be one of the most romantic, or ideal days to propose marriage.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!! And remember, if you’re still looking for the perfect gift for your special someone, come and visit us at the Factory at Franklin!!