Feb 14, 2009

Valentine’s Day (or Saint Valentine’s Day as it was formerly known) is celebrated worldwide on February 14th. Although this is one of the most popular holidays in the modern world, the real significance of this day is shrouded in mystery.

One legend mentions a priest named Valentine who lived in the Roman Empire. Emperor Claudius II wanted to strengthen his army and when men refused to join the army and leave their wives behind, he had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married they would not mind joining the army. So he ordered all young men to remain single. The priest Valentine secretly performed marriages of young men and women in an underground cellar. When Emperor Claudius heard about this, he imprisoned Valentine and ordered him to be beheaded. While he was in prison, many young people visited him and threw flowers and notes through the window into his prison cell. They wanted to thank him for his service and for believing in love. Legend has it that this priest healed  jailor Asterius’s daughter and restored her sight and wrote a note that read “From your Valentine” the day before his execution. He was supposedly executed on February 14th  in the year 269AD and Rome began to celebrate this day in memory of this priest who joined young couples in the sacrament of matrimony.

A second legend refers to St. Valentine of Terni who was a bishop in 197 AD. He was persecuted and killed by Emperor Aurelian. Basilica di San Valentino is named after this St. Valentine. The third St. Valentine was also martyred for his faith in Africa. None of these legends however have a connection to romantic love or modern day rendition of Valentine’s Day as we know it. All of these St. Valentine’s suffered martyrdom and died defending their Christian faith.

The day became associated with romantic love in the middle ages when courtship was in vogue. The first recorded link between Valentine’s Day and romantic love was in 1382 in the poem written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England and Anne of Bohemia, both of whom were 14 years old at the time of marriage.  Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1600) also makes a reference to Valentine’s Day. Seventeen Century Europe also popularized “Valentine’s Day Ball” where young couples expressed their commitment for each other through dance in a ballroom.

Historically, Valentine’s Day was used for declaring love and hand made love notes were used as Valentines. In 1847, sending of Valentines became a fashion in Worcester, Massachusetts when Esther Howland started a business manufacturing hand-made Valentine Cards on embossed paper. Gradually, mass produced greeting cards have replaced hand-written notes. Modern valentine symbols include heart-shaped cards, flowers, boxes of chocolates, and the figure of Cupid, Greek God of love.

It was the confusion over the origins of Valentine’s Day and its secularization that led the Catholic Church to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts in 1969. So, today, it is purely a secular celebration all over the world. Until 1969, Saint Valentine (Valentinus in Latin) was accepted as a patron saint of engaged couples, happy marriages, lovers, young people and travelers.

Over the years, Valentine’s Day has been commercialized by the manufacturers of Greeting cards, florists, confectionaries and soft-toy makers to such an extent that hardly anyone knows the legend of St. Valentine anymore. According to United States Greeting Card Association, more than one billion cards are sent every year worldwide which makes this holiday second largest card-sending holiday next to Christmas. Women purchase 85% of valentines!  

There is a popular belief in the western world that the couples that say “I do” on this day have lasting marriages. Many couples choose February 14th to be engaged or to be married. There is no evidence however that this day has an impact on the longevity of one’s marriage. In Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States, France and Australia, Valentine’s Day is celebrated with pomp and fervor. Now the Valentine’s Day fever has reached a number of developing nations, causing uproar among the culture police.

Today, in many parts of the world, Valentine’s Day is not just for romantic exchanges. It’s a holiday to commemorate affection and appreciation, concern and caring, Nowadays, school children exchange valentines with their friends and teachers, household pets might get a chew bone of raw hide as a valentine, exchanges take place between parents and children, among siblings and neighbors and it has become a day to show you care.

So, this Valentine’s day, you can show you care for your loved-ones and tell them you appreciate what they are and what they do. Remember, you don’t have to spend money on cards, gifts, or flowers; after all, it’s the thought that counts. Visit your elderly parents this Valentine’s Day and spend some time with them; take a box of candy hearts to the children in an orphanage, tell your domestic helper she can take a day off and you are going to cook; tell your unruly teenage son that you love him no matter what he does. Well, you get the point, don’t you?