Valentine’s Day is one of the most special Days for people that are in love! But do you really know what are we celebrating?
Let’s find out something more about this holiday!
- Valentine’s Day is also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine
- It is a secular and religious holiday celebrated annually on February 14
- It originated as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus
- Valentine’s Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world
- Although it is not a public holiday in any country
- There are numerous martyrdom stories associated with various Valentines connected to February 14
- These include a written account of Saint Valentine
- He was imprisonned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry
- And for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire
- According to legend, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge
- He wrote her a letter signed “Your Valentine” as a farewell
- The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century
- When the tradition of courtly love flourished
- In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers
- They were also offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards
- They were known as “valentines”
- Valentine’s Day symbols that are used today include the heart- shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid
- Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards
- In Europe, Saint Valentine’s Keys are given to lovers “as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart”
- As well as to children to ward off epilepsy
- They were called Saint Valentine’s Malady
- Saint Valentine’s Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion
- And the Lutheran Church
- Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day on July 6 and July 30
- The former date in honor of Roman presbyter Saint Valentine
- The latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine
- He was the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni)
- It is forbidenn in many countries of the East due to religious traditions
- More than 2 million roses are sold each year
- It is one of the most commercial holidays
