The air is filled with love since the highly-anticipated day Valentine’s Day will be celebrated for couples across all generations on the 14th of February.
The day has become popular for its extravagant dinner dates, gifts and a general day of celebration, the roots for Valentine’s Day are far less romantic.
The air is filled with love since the highly-anticipated Valentine’s Day will be enjoyed with couples from all age groups on the 14th of February.
Although this day is popular for its gifts, extravagant evening dates and generally a day of celebration, the roots to Valentine’s Day are far less romantic.
Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine Saint Valentine, an Catholic clergyman who was a priest in Rome in the period of the 3rd millennium B.C. The day is a reminder from both Christian and old Roman customs, however the origins of this holiday and the tale of the saint who is its patron saint are both shrouded in mystery.
There are many tales about Saint Valentine and as time passed, these stories became the legend we have of today.
The origins of the date 14 February
In the past in the past, the Romans were known to celebrate the festival of Lupercalia from the 13th of February to February 15 in which the men sacrificed a dog and goat.
The hides of the dead animals were used by the men to beat women. Young women were even lined to be whipped by men based on their belief that it made women more fertile.
At the time of the festivities, a lottery to match people was also played.
The winners took names of women from a jar and were able to declare their love for these women throughout the festival.
Sometimes, it was also the culmination of the union of a couple.
The fact is, Lupercalia was replaced by St Valentine’s Day by the end of the 5th century under Pope Gelasius which is one of the main reasons that resulted in Valentine’s Day being associated with romantic love and also the first day of love.
Valentine’s Day: History of its name
Valentine’s Day has been named in honor of Saint Valentine, one of the priests believed to have helped Christian couples to get married.
This was an attempt to defy Claudius II, the Roman King Claudius II, who prohibited men from being able to get married.
Saint Valentine was convinced that men who were single were superior and more loyal soldiers.
Saint Valentine didn’t agree with this notion and helped facilitate the marriages of couples who were who were in love.
Because of this his actions, he was executed at the hands of Emperor.
Before the beheading took place during his imprisonment, Valentine was able to take care of his fellow prisoners, as well as his jailer’s daughter who was blind.
People say that Valentine cured the little girl’s blindness, and that the last thing he did before they killed him was write a love text for his beloved with the title “from the heart of your beloved Valentine”.
Then he was killed on the 14th of February, the year of 270 AD.
It wasn’t until over 200 years later that February 14 was officially declared by the Roman Catholic Church as St Valentine’s Day.
In the year 2000, Rome was becoming Christian as well. The Catholic Church was determined to eliminate any pagan beliefs that remained.
A pagan fertility festival was celebrated in February every year.
The Pope then banned the festival and declared 14 February as Saint Valentine’s Day, thus declaring this day a feast on the Catholic Calendar of Saints.
The way Valentine’s Day got linked with love?
Poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, who lived in the Middle Ages was the first to establish a connection between St Valentine with romantic love.
This was the first step in the custom of love in court, a form of expressing affection and love generally in secret.
This tradition spread throughout Europe and stories began to emerge around the High Court of Love where female judges would decide on love-related issues on February 14 each year.
According to historians, these meetings were actually gatherings in which people read love poems as well as played flirting games.
The old method of sending love messages eventually evolved into sending cards to express their feelings.
These cards were exquisite hand-crafted by the sender, and made to express how they loved their recipient.
The cards usually contained sentimental words, praising how beautiful the recipient and the love they received.
In the beginning it was about getting only one valentine for the entire year. It changed later during the 19th century and raised doubts about the legitimacy of exchanging pre-printed cards , and the wisdom of spending huge sums of money on these cards.
Valentine’s Day and the exchange of valentines were ways that the people of the new middle class of the 19th century could negotiate the complex relationship between love for one another and the reality of economic marriage.
What is the significance today’s times
Valentine’s Day today is celebrated in many different ways.
Although it is observed across the world, various cultures have created their own customs around the day.
In some regions around the globe, Valentine’s Day is observed as a day of expressing love between family members as well as friends, not as a day of couples who are in love.
There are some traditions that involve leaving sweets and gifts to children.
Other traditions include gestures of love between family members.
It’s possible that today’s social media has created Valentine’s Day more viral and more harmful, even however the structure was already in place.
It’s not as if social media has affected the subject matter that was in the midst of the day, but it has opened up a new avenue to perform the act that is Valentine’s Day.
Since social media platforms are about putting on your ideal self The amount of scrutiny over the way people celebrate Valentine’s Day or what they receive from their Valentine is increased exponentially.
For those trying to determine what to do for Valentine’s Day, it is essential to understand that there is no set of guidelines.
It is a new age which we are living in, and individuals can observe the day of love however they want regardless of whether it’s simply for self-love.
A romantic dinner out and a night out at the cinema or cooking a romantic dinner at home, or hosting a Valentine’s Day party are all wonderful ways to mark the holiday of romance.
Whatever you choose to do, if you’re with an intimate partner, make sure that the two of you are on the same page in order to avoid any frustrations.