Many people celebrate Valentine’s Day with different people in different ways. Some people celebrate with a lover, others with family and friends and the rest by themselves. Have you ever wondered about who, where this tradition started? When it started?
I remember when I first started Junior High I used to wear pink on Valentine’s Day to show the world that I was loved. It was one of those little things that you would do at that age, like drawing a heart, or writing the lyrics to a love song or even writing a poem for your valentine. Those were the days. My father used to buy me chocolate and I guess he wanted to let me know that I was his valentine for being his first child.
According to the Virtual Museum of Canada1, Culture is like an onion, layer growing upon layer. Tradition, a Latin word meaning “what is handed on,” often carries with it various elements from these layers. So it is with Valentine’s Day. Even in its contemporary practice we may hear the echo from the “well of the past,” the echo of the Roman saint and martyr from whom we get the name for this day, the echo of the Roman feast of courtship and the echo of love’s compelling stories.
There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine’s Day. Some experts state that on February 14, 270, Valentine, a priest in Rome, was cruelly executed during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Claudius II. Since earliest times his feast has been associated with the habit of girls and boys declaring their love or vowing to be each other’s “steady partner” for the year. Some say this custom developed because the mating season of birds begins on this day. There is a medieval legend, however, that tells how the saint, shortly before his execution, wrote a kind note to his prison master’s friendly daughter. He signed it “from your Valentine.” In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.
In the 19th century, British settlers imported the Valentine’s Day tradition to North America. However, shortly after 1847, Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts sent the first Valentine’s Day card with embossed paper lace.
In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of giving gifts along with cards became popular. Roses and chocolates were the most commonly exchanged Valentine’s Day Gifts and were usually given by man to the woman. Around 1980’s diamond industry began to promote Valentine’s Day as an occasion to gift fine jewelry.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day, like many other holidays, is more about what you receive from people instead of the celebration it is meant to be. The day has become so overrated that even myself, who used to be so in tune with everything, counting down the hours until I could wear my pink blouse and talking to my friends about the poems we have written, see Valentine’s Day as a marketing tool for the cards, candy and jewelry makers. The day is being associated with a generic platonic greeting of “Happy Valentine’s Day.” I wonder how many people remember what the true meaning of Valentine’s Day. For me, it is a special day to remind my family and friends how much I love them.
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