rom naff playing cards to ostentatious flower bouquets – Valentine’s Day could also be tacky, however there is not any doubt many individuals adore it.
The day devoted to like at all times falls on February 14, and this yr it will likely be celebrated on a Tuesday.
From its early roots almost 2,000 years in the past, by way of celebrated poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and together with the lacey Valentine’s playing cards of the Victorian period, it’s nonetheless heralded as essentially the most romantic day of the yr.
However who was the saint the day is known as after, and the way did it develop into synonymous with schmaltz?
This is all it’s essential to know.
Shutterstock / Javier Brosch
Who was Saint Valentine?
Through the years, various legends and anecdotes have been created across the origins of the day of affection.
Firstly, there have been a couple of eponymous Saint Valentines related to the day. Nonetheless, the most well-liked story concerned a Catholic priest dwelling in Rome within the third century.
Throughout Valentine’s life, Christianity was incompatible with contemporaneous Roman regulation. The emperor on the time, Claudius II, was a pagan and created strict laws towards Christianity, together with legal guidelines towards marriage vows.
In additional fashionable instances, the story of this Valentine was embellished, and it’s mentioned he defied the regulation and married many troopers in secret Christian ceremonies, which earned him a popularity as a saint of affection.
Sadly, he was finally captured and jailed for his crimes towards Claudius, however legend dictates his good efforts didn’t cease there. Whereas imprisoned, Valentine cared for a lot of of his fellow prisoners, together with his jailor’s blind daughter. Later, tales inform that Valentine even cured the woman’s blindness along with his final act earlier than being executed and, within the 18th century, the legend grew to become additional embroidered, with the priest mentioned to have signed a closing letter to the woman “out of your Valentine”.
Valentine was executed on February 14 within the yr 270 and this date is commemorated as St Valentine’s Day in varied Christian denominations.
What did Chaucer need to do with it?
Medieval creator Geoffrey Chaucer is taken into account the primary individual to affiliate romantic love with Saint Valentine, though unofficially there could also be others whose sources can’t be confirmed.
In 1382, within the Parliament of Fowls (1382), he mentions that Valentine’s Day was when birds selected their mates.
The earliest affiliation with February 14 as an annual celebration of affection seems within the Constitution of the Courtroom of Love, allegedly issued by Charles VI of France in 1400, and describes a lavish feast of the royal court docket.
The phrase Valentine then grew to become synonymous with describing an individual’s lover, with emotions dedicated to verse on that day. This led to the creation of mass-produced paper Valentine’s playing cards by the 19th century, with Valentine’s as we all know it being born.
What are typical Valentine’s Day traditions within the UK?
Mid-February is second solely to Christmas for conceptions
/ PA Archive / PA Pictures
Playing cards, flowers, sweets, romantic mini-breaks, meals for 2 – you title it, any romantic stereotype you may consider is well-liked on Valentine’s Day – assume teddy bears with saccharine love messages or something heart-shaped.
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Valentine’s Day playing cards have historically been despatched anonymously, with it being seen as unfortunate to signal your title.
In the meantime, many {couples} both prepare dinner for one another or go for a romantic meal, whereas presents for a associate vary from unexpectedly grabbed sweets and roses from the native service station or grocery store, to fragrance, footwear, and lingerie, and punctiliously deliberate surprises.
