14/02/2012
Happy Valentine's Day!
Virtually everyone knows the trappings of Valentine's Day. There are cards, candies, flowers and other thoughtful gifts which are waiting to be purchased. Lovers exchange them, enjoy a nice dinner, spend time together and in some cases there may even be a marriage proposal. The origin of Valentine's Day, on the other hand, is a lot more mysterious, and not even scholars can agree completely on the actual reason for the celebration of love and lovers.
Perfect Valentine's Day Gifts for Her Valentine's Day Facts:
History
There is little actual history that ties today's celebration of love on February 14 to an actual man entitled Valentine. Various legends and traditions make up for this lack of fact, and the resulting history of Valentine's Day is a mix of fact, conjecture and folklore.
Theories/Speculation
One of the theories that the majority of experts agree on, deals with a Christian priest named Valentine who lived in third century Rome under the reign of Emperor Claudius II. The emperor forbade marriage for young men old enough to enter the military, and it was priest Valentine who disregarded the order and secretly married young soldiers to their sweethearts. Claudius learned of the secret weddings and jailed--and later executed--Valentine, making him a Christian martyr.
Misconceptions
It is a common misconception that there is only one Saint Valentine after whom the day may have been named. At least two different Christian martyrs named Valentine were persecuted for their faith and executed in the same general time frame. One is named Valentine of Rome and the other Valentine of Terni.
Significance
The origin of Valentine's Day is of significant importance in Christian church history, as it provides another example of how a Christian feast day is combined with a Pagan holy day. In this case it is the feast day of Saint Valentine that was combined with the Roman celebration of the Lupercalia, the annual remembrance of Romulus and Remus, as well as the Juno Februa, a rite of fertility and purification.
Geography
Valentine's Day originated in the geographic regions of Europe, and it appears that Great Britain in particular was fertile ground for the earliest observances of card giving. The earliest card that survived was dated, and it is believed to have been written in 1415 by the Duke of Orleans and addressed to his wife. In America, the preprinted Valentine's Day card became popular in 1847, when it first appeared in a stationery store.
Effects
The origins of Valentine's Day and the subsequent gain in the popularity of the observance had huge effects on a variety of business ventures. Industry insiders released numbers that suggest annually there are about 1 billion cards that change hands in honor of the Valentine's Day holiday.
