What are your thoughts on Valentines Day. Why do people celebrate it? Some people really spend so much on celebrating it, with the cards, the chocolates and teddy bears, the decorations and of course the flowers. It’s maybe a day that’s been so commercialize that everyone becomes compelled to recognize.
It’s so special to most people, specially to couples (lovers). But what is it really that we celebrate and how did it started.
The first Valentine’s Day was in the year 496! Having a particular Valentine’s Day is a very old tradition, thought to have originated from a Roman festival.
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VALENTINES DAY
Valentine’s Day or St. Valentines day is celebrated all around the world on February 14. Its a day when people show affection by giving cards, flowers, chocolates and gifts with messages of love.
Photo by Jesse Goll on Unsplash
WHO WAS ST. VALENTINE?
Valentines day got its name from a famous St. , and there are several stories who he was.
According to popular belief, St Valentine was a priest from Rome in the third century AD. Emperor Claudius II, issued a degree banning marriage because He believes that young men are better soldiers when they weren’t romantically attached. Valentine felt it was unfair, so he broke the law and wed couples in secret.
WHY WE CELEBRATE IT ON FEBRUARY 14?
When Emperor Claudius found it, Valentine was imprisoned and sentence to death . While in jail, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and when he was executed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed “from your Valentine”.
Another belief says he helped save Catholics who were imprisoned for their religious beliefs.
However, it was said that Valentines day holiday may have been promoted to overshadow the pagan festival Lupercalia. Lupercalia was an ancient, Roman festival, observed in the city of Rome between February 13 and February 15, to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility . Romans celebration includes sacrificing a goat and a dog and whipping women with their hides. Some people believed this made women more fertile, and women actually lined up to get slapped with bloody hides.
In the fifth century, Pope Gelasius I outlawed Lupercalia and officially declared February 14 Valentine’s Day. The church turned this festival into a Christian celebration and decided to use it to remember St Valentine too.
WHY WE GIVE OUT ROSES?
People expressed their emotions through floriography, or the language of flowers, back in the Victorian era. Giving a certain kind of flower conveyed a specific message, and red roses meant romance. Today, they carry that same symbol of romance specially on Valentine’s Day.
WHY PEOPLE WEAR RED?
Red has long been considered the color of passion and sexuality, the color also symbolizes confidence, spontaneity, and determination—all important factors in a romantic pursuit. According to a study by University of Rochester psychologists, they found out that men viewed women more attractive and desirable when they’re wearing red or standing in front of a red background. Women felt the same way about men wearing red.
WHY WE SENT OUT VALENTINES CARD?
According to report, approximately 114 million cards are sent out each Valentine’s Day. Wow, that’s a lot of cards. In the middle of the 18th century, giving out handwritten notes and other signs of affection was a common Valentine’s Day custom in England. Then ready made cards came when printing technology improves. The practice continues and reach America in 1840. And it’s still alive up to our present day.
WHO IS CUPID?
Cupid was a naked baby with bow and arrow and has the power to make people fall in love. Before he was Cupid, Greeks call him Eros(cupid’s Greek counterpart), the god of love, fertility and passion. The Romans added him to their mythology as Cupid, the son of Venus, who was the goddess of love. As for his connection with Valentine’s day, Cupid was the choice because he’s generally a symbol of love.
WHY WE GIVE OUT CHOCOLATES?
Chocolate is associated with valentines day. People give out boxes and boxes of chocolates to express love. Thanks to Richard Cadbury and his brother who started designing beautiful boxes, including the special Valentines day ones with cupids and roses. Once chocolate was consumed, Cadbury emphasized that box can be use to hold memories, love letters and other things of that sort. It was believed that Cadbury make the first box but did not actually patent it.
Did you know that there’s 58 million pounds of chocolate purchased during Valentine’s Day week alone, according to History.com.
But before Cadbury’s business, it was believed that Chocolate (cacao) played an important role in both Maya and Aztec civilizations; the Mayans believed cacao was a “gift from the gods”.
The rich history of chocolate contributes to its popularity today as a gift, especially on a valentine’s day. In more recent times, scientists have validated many of cacao’s health benefits, including the release of neurotransmitters like phenylethylamine and serotonin, which, in short, make you feel “happy” – just as you may feel when you’re in love.
I think the happy feeling that you have after consuming chocolate makes its connection to valentines day. Happiness that makes you feel like your floating in the clouds when you are in love.
Whatever your belief or knowledge about valentine is, its up to you how you celebrate it. Some people celebrate it and some people do not. But valentine’s is a day that we express our affection to someone we love. May it be either romantic or not. I think valentine’s day is a special day to commemorate love, but should be done everyday and be express to everyone always .
