Valentine’s Day is one of the most special Days for people that are in love! But do you really how this day came to be a celebration of love?
Let’s find out some trivia and facts about this day.
- 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
- Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day on July 6 in honor of Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and on July 30 in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna
- While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and St. Valentine’s Day have become marginalized by the modern Anglo-American customs connecting the day with romantic love, there are some remaining associations connecting the saint with the advent of spring
- While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, Valentine’s Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England
- In Norfolk, a character called ‘Jack’ Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses leaving sweets and presents for children
- Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person
- In Slovenia, Saint Valentine or Zdravko was one of the saints of spring, the saint of good health and the patron of beekeepers and pilgrims
- A proverb says that “Saint Valentine brings the keys of roots”. Plants and flowers start to grow on this day
- It has been celebrated as the day when the first work in the vineyards and in the fields commences
- It is also said that birds propose to each other or marry on that day. Another proverb says “Valentin – prvi spomladin” (“Valentine – the first spring saint”), as in some places (especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring
- Valentine’s Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love
- The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory’s day, or February 22, Saint Vincent’s Day
- The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13
- Valentine’s Day customs – sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”), offering confectionary and presenting flowers – developed in early modern England
- They spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century
- In the later 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs spread to other countries, like those of Hallowe’en, or than aspects of Christmas, (such as Santa Claus)
- Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many East Asian countries with Singaporeans, Chinese and South Koreans spending the most money on Valentine’s gifts
- In the United States, about 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year
- This does not including the hundreds of millions of cards school children exchange
- Valentine’s Day is a major source of economic activity, with total expenditures in 2017 topping $18.2 billion in 2017, or over $136 per person
- This is an increase from $108 per person in 2010
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