The Origins of Valentines Day

Every year February 14th is celebrated as a day forpopularly known as St Valentine.
love, exchange of gifts, promises of eternal passion,Wonderful legends are woven around Valentine's Day.
and more. The inspired pen poems inspired by theirIn Wales young people exchanged as gifts wooden
love and admiration for the women of their dreamsspoons which were hand carved with decorations of
while others just go to shops and buy commerciallyhearts and key holes. The decorations conveyed "you
available verses.hold the key to my heart or you unlock my heart." In
Valentines means candy, chocolates, perfume, redother places women were given gifts of clothes and if
hearts, balloons, and more. Have you ever wonderedthey accepted the gift then it conveyed that they
when the celebration first originated? Well in ancientwere wiling to marry the man who has sent the gift.
Rome, February heralded the coming to spring a timeIn 1415, Charles, the Duke of Orleans is known to have
for rejuvenation, fertility, and growth.penned, from his prison in the tower of London , what
In ancient times, Romans celebrated in February awere known as "poetical amorous addresses" to his
festival to honor the god of fertility who provided themwife in France, he is believed to be one of the earliest
with progeny and ensured a god crop. In Romecreators of valentines.
February 15th was celebrated as the feast ofJust as companies like Hallmark sell cards for
Lupercalla and Feb 14th as a holiday in honor of JunoValentines Day in the 15th century people bought little
the queen of Roman gods and goddesses. On thebooklets with verse in them ---they then made their
eve of Lupercalla a glass jar was filled to the brim withown valentines using the verse to express their
chits on which were penned the names of all eligiblethoughts. For example a valentine could have the hand
girls. Then young men would draw a chit each fromdrawn illustration of a knight and his lady with Cupid the
the jar and the girl whose name was on the chit wouldgod of love shooting arrows into the knight's heart.
be his partner for the celebration. This was a methodIn the US it was after 1723, that popularity of the
by which ancient Romans introduced eligible boys andcelebration grew. People imported the "booklets of
girls to one another.verse" all the way from England and copied the
Much later in the 3rd century BCE when Emperorverses on to gilt edged papers. Then a Ms. Ester
Claudius II ruled Rome there lived a priest calledHoward in around 1830 decided to be original and
Valentine. And when Claudius passed a decree thatcreate American Valentines that were marketed as
young men in his empire were not to marry, ValentineWorcester Valentines.
defied him and used to consecrate marriages secretly.Since then with changing centuries and tastes the
He was sentenced to death and thrown into prison.celebration has taken on new hues with young men
While awaiting his execution Valentine penned a letterand women, children, as well as older couples creating
to his love and signed it "from your Valentine." After hisnewer ways to celebrate and declare their undying
death Valentine became a martyr and saint and waslove.