Saint Valentine's Day

How Did this Come About?

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly called Valentine's Day is a holiday observed on February 14th honouring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. Popular legend has it that one of these martyrs, a priest, was put to death by Emperor Claudius 11 after secretly marrying young men who were forbidden to marry by the Emperor and also for  trying to covert him to Christianity. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionary, and sending greeting cards, known as "valentines". The day first became associated with romantic love by Saint Valentine himself whom it is said, while in prison and just before his death, sent a valentine to a young girl whom he loved. It was a note which read 'from your valentine'. It was also practiced in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the middle ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. It was first established by Pope Gelasius 1 in 496 AD and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of Saints in 1969 by Pope Paul V1.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated the world over. However, in Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th century, it was common for friends  and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time  when direct expressions of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.

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