Valentine’s Day – 14th February 2024
So, love it or hate it – we’ve all celebrated Valentine’s Day at some point in our lives. Some choose to celebrate their other half, others their kids and some their friends! Ever heard of Galentine’s Day? - a day for women to celebrate their friendships with their girly friends. This is just one of the ‘spin offs’ but ever wondered how and where it all started? Here is the low down on the history of Valentine’s Day which can also be known as St. Valentine’s Day or The Feast of Saint Valentine. So, who was this St. Valentine’s Guy and was he real? Well, it can be a bit confusing because there have been many important Christian people with the name of Valentine. Many people think, though, that Valentine’s Day is actually named after a Christian priest who lived in Rome during the third century AD. He died on 14th February AD 269. Legend has it that a prominent Christian Leader, called Pope Gelasius, wanted to create a special day to remember Saint Valentine. So, he began the event called the ‘Feast of Valentine’ in AD 496. The 14th of February was chosen as the date for the feast as a way of commemorating Saint Valentine’s passing.
Because Saint Valentine lived so long ago, we don’t that much about his life but what we do know about him is that he was a kind and romanticchap! It is believed that poor Valentine was banished to prison for helping Roman soldiers to marry their girlfriends when they were not allowed to. The mean Emperor Claudius II had banned it but ever the romantic, Valentine, had to find a way to make it happen – even it meant risking prison. Sadly, he was caught and sent down. The story goes that Saint Val fell deeply in love with the daughter of one of his prison guards. In a desire to declare his love, he would pen letters to her. He apparently used to sign each letter at the bottom with ‘your Valentine’ – this is where the idea of having ‘a valentine’ is said to come from.
Interestingly, the name Valentine comes from the Latin word ‘valens’, which translates as strong, brave. Fittingly, St. Valentine was indeed a brave man who challenged current views and did all he could to help his fellow men. Empathy, sacrifice and love were the values that Saint Valentine held most dear in life. Let’s face it, there is nothing more romantic than writing letters to your sweetheart too! Saint Val, was the absolute original Romeo, Oh Romeo!
As far back as the 1500s, the 14th of February stared to be a day all about love. Then a few hundred years later, folk started to swap gifts. Flowers, chocolates, sweets and greeting cards were initially the gifts of choice – and often still are today. Like everything in life though, more and more money is spent on these yearly events. In 2020, it is estimated that people in the UK spent a whopping £855 million celebrating Valentine’s Day!
Red roses are the flower of choice to give and receive on Valentine’s Day. This tradition has even been recorded as far back as Ancient Roman times. In Greek mythology, the Greek goddess, Venus, was said to be the goddess of love and the red rose was her favourite flowerhence why so many are given and received on this day of love.
So, however you are choosing to spend Valentine’s Day, we hope you have a blast celebrating LOVE and its many forms.