Stuart's Musings
How Valentine's Day Came to Pass
Each year on February 14, loving sentiments and gifts are exchanged between friends and lovers, all in the name of Saint Valentine. But who was Valentine? And why do we celebrate a holiday in his honor?
St. Valentine's Day contains traces of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is hazy, the man called Valentine remains a sympathetic, honorable, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure.
According to the most popular legend Valentine, while in prison, sent the first "valentine" greeting to a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Before his death (c.270 A.D.), it is said that he wrote her a letter that he signed "From your Valentine."
Another twist.... Some historians claim that the Christian church decided to celebrate St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to Christianize celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival-- a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture and to Rome's founders, Romulus and Remus. The festival began on the ides (15th) of February.
In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants, Romulus and Remus, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys would slice the goat's hide into strips, dip them in the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently whipping women with the bloody strips, believing it would make women more fertile in the coming year. Afterwards, the young maidens would place their names in a vessel and the boys would select their chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. This romance lottery system was deemed un-Christian and later outlawed.
The oldest known valentine, written in 1415 and still in existence today, was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired writer John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century it was common for friends and lovers to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of that century, printed cards began to replace written letters.
Americans began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion Valentine cards are sent each year. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
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Reference: Reference: http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/valentine/?page=history
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