History of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries throughout the world and also all across the United States on 14 February. February has been celebrated as the month of romance since centuries ago starting way back from ancient Roman right to Victorian England. According to the Catholic Church, at least three different saints are recognized by them with the name Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend insists that Valentine was a Rome priest, who had served during the third century. He was the one, who defied Emperor Claudius II due to the emperor’s injustice of the decree which barred marriage for single soldiers. He continued to perform marriages for young lovers in an unknown location until his actions were discovered by Claudius, where he was sanctioned to death. Meanwhile, we also have another version, which relates the killing of Valentine was because he attempted to assist Christians to escape from the cruel Roman prisons that often beat and tortured their prisoners like animals.
According to one legendary story, the first “valentine” greeting was sent by an imprisoned Valentine after he fell in love with his jailor’s daughter, who visited him during his confinement. It is alleged that right before the death of the Valentine, he managed to write a letter to the girl signed “From your Valentine”, which became a famous expression up until today. All of the stories related to St Valentine emphasize his appeal as a romantic figure, sympathetic and heroic thus making him among the most popular saints throughout England and France.
A Day of Romance
Although 14 February was not associated with love when it was declared by the Pope Gelasius at the end of the 5th century, it gradually turns out to be a day of romance from time to time. It is a day for sending greetings and gifts. The oldest Valentine poem was written by Charles, Duke of Orleans in 1415, which he dedicated to his wife.
It was written when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The poem is now being kept by the British Library in London, England as a part of their manuscript collection.
Valentine’s Day Greetings
Apart from the United States (US), other countries celebrating Valentine’s Day include Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom (UK), France and Australia. Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated in UK approximately in the 17th century. By the next century, it is found to be common for friends and lovers from all walks of life to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes to each other. Ready-made printed cards began to take place in 1900 to replace letters because of the advance technology of printing during that period. Meanwhile, in the US hand-made Valentines are exchanged in early 1700s but in the 1840s, the first mass-produced valentines were introduced by Esther A. Howland with creative creations like real lace, ribbons and colourful pictures known as “scrap.”
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