In January, the Christmas bustle smoothly turns into romantic excitement. The main focus in marketing campaigns is shifting from Christmas trees and Santa Claus to cute hearts, cupids, and couples in love. The spirit of love fills shop windows, sounds in songs, and gently penetrates people’s hearts. These love metamorphoses occur as the world prepares to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14.
This holiday evokes different emotions in people. Some prefer to purchase postcards, sweets, trinkets in the form of hearts, or luxurious bouquets of roses for their loved ones. Some can book a table for two in a restaurant, prepare an enchanting marriage proposal, or choose this day for a beautiful wedding. Others hate this day. Every year, they organize meetings in the anti-Valentine style to express their protest against the commercial aspect of the celebration. Anti-romantics suppose that Valentine’s tradition forces them to express love in a materialistic, often too expensive, way. An unsentimental anti-Valentine’s party will surely be visited by people who adhere to self-love, which includes care and self-respect. People usually organize this without a partner to show they do not need a companion to feel loved and valued. On Valentine’s Day in Tokyo, the Revolutionary Alliance of Unpopular People staged a protest against the holiday, marching through the famous Shibuya-Scramble intersection. Their slogan states that a person’s worth shouldn’t be measured by the number of chocolates they receive on Valentine’s Day. These offensive statements come from the Japanese men. In the Land of the Rising Sun, February 14 is celebrated as a “sweet day” where only women give sweets to men rather than one another. The more chocolates given, the greater the expression of love.
In addition to supporters and opponents of Valentine’s Day, there are people who are neutral about this holiday. For them, this is an ordinary February day. They believe there is no need to look for a special date on the calendar to convey love and respect for their partner. You must show care and value daily, not just during the holidays.
It is interesting to find out what kind of mysterious romantic was hiding behind the personality of St. Valentine. Perhaps it was not one person but a collective image. As is known, there were three saints with such a name in the period of early Christianity. Today, no one can say which one of the Valentines became the prototype of the holiday of love. However, many historians and religious scholars believe it was Bishop Valentine of Interama, about whom the Italian Dominican monk Jacobus de Voragine wrote in his collection of lives of saints, Golden Legend.” Legend tells the story of Bishop Valentine, who lived in the third century in Rome. The Bishop healed the sick and converted them to Christianity. Valentine, while in Rome, saved the son of the famous orator Cato from the hump. According to legend, the Christian saint cured the young man with prayer. In this way, he converted the boy and his parents to Christianity. Rumors about Valentine’s extraordinary gift of healing spread throughout the city, and his preaching introduced many townspeople to Christianity. Such a popular activity of Valentine’s did not please the emperor, so he ordered his nobleman to arrest him and keep him in custody in his house. But Valentine did not stop his healing deeds even in the monastery with the overseer. The Bishop, entering the interior of the dwelling, asked Jesus, whom he called “the True Light,” to bless this house and let them know the true God. The nobleman expressed his doubts and asked for substantial proof: if God was “the True Light,” he could heal his blind daughter. Valentine prayed to Christ, and the girl regained her sight. After such a miraculous healing, everyone in the house accepted the Christian faith.
Another popular legend associated with St. Valentine’s Day has a romantic connotation. During the reign of the cruel Emperor Claudius II, in Rome, marriages were forbidden for soldiers of the imperial legions. The ruler believed that only single men would become brave warriors. The soldiers without a family will perform better on the battlefield, as they have nothing to lose. But as the saying goes, all the emperor’s orders do not matter for the loving heart. Despite the ban, the legionnaires continued to fall in love. Priest Valentine came to the aid of the lovers, who were not afraid of the ban and secretly married at night. In addition, he also served as a romantic postman who passed letters from soldiers to girls and vice versa. He did not forget to reconcile those in a quarrel and give flowers. But one day, the emperor learned about the secret wedding ceremonies carried out by the brave priest Valentine and ordered him to be imprisoned and executed. Allegedly, within the prison walls, he fell in love with the daughter of one of the guards, named Julia, who visited him during his imprisonment. Before his death, the priest wrote her a note, which he signed with the words “From your Valentine.”
According to another version, Valentine was engaged in medical practice and secretly married couples. One day, the prison guard approached him and asked him to cure his daughter of blindness. Valentine gave him eye ointment and asked him to come back later. During this time, Claudius II discovered that the Christian martyr, despite the prohibition, continued to tie the knot of marriage. The emperor sentenced the priest to death. The day before the verdict, while in prison, Valentine gave Julia a love letter, inside which he put a sprig of saffron. At the end, he signed “Your Valentine.” A miracle happened; on the day of Valentine’s execution, the girl touched the healing plant, and her eyesight was immediately restored.
Paradoxically, the origins of the most romantic holiday are not bright and rosy; they are very sad. Valentine was executed by order of the Roman Emperor Claudius II on February 14, 269. Today, lovers can visit his relics in the city of Terni, St. Valentine’s Basilica, which was built in 1606. Inside the building, there is a visitor’s book where parishioners have the opportunity to write their requests to the saint.
There is another theory that the day of romance and love comes from the ancient Roman holiday of Lupercalia, a day of fertility and prosperity. It was celebrated annually between February 13 and 15. With the establishment of Christianity in Europe, many pagan holidays were renamed in honor of Christian martyrs. Lupercalia was no exception. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I abolished the holiday of Lupercalia and replaced it with Valentine’s Day.
The true origin of the Day of Love is still unknown. St. Valentine’s Day was celebrated in the Catholic Church as a memory of the saint’s martyrdom. However, in 1969, this holiday was removed from the general Roman calendar 1969 since the identity of Valentine could not be historically confirmed.
It should be noted that until the 15th century, St. Valentine’s Day was not associated with the day of love and reunion of two hearts but was simply the day of remembrance of a Christian martyr. The romantic subtext appeared thanks to the medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. In his poem “Parlement of Foules” or “The Parliament of Birds,” he first connected Valentine’s Day with the theme of love. By the way, he wrote it in honor of the engagement of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia, later Queen of England. In this poem, which is written in the form of a vision-dream, the narrator witnesses a cluster of birds in the Garden of Love. Birds of all stripes gather on Valentine’s Day to choose a suitable match. Geoffrey Chaucer did not choose this date by chance since, at that time, there was a legend that birds mate on this day. He used natural imagery to show the idea of court love, which was a popular genre in medieval society. The poem “Parlement of Foules” or “The Parliament of Birds” inspired other poets to use Valentine’s Day in their works. However, modern researchers are more inclined to believe that medieval poets meant the little-known Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated in Genoa in May.
Three primary sources have propelled Valentine’s Day to the masses and made it popular. The first romantic catalyst was the above-mentioned poem by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, the second was the celebration of the cult of love for women in sublime courtly poetry, and the third factor was the long Hundred Years’ War. Medieval literature formed a particular concept of celebrating the Day of Love. It gave the world lasting romantic symbols and motifs like birds, which symbolize love, freedom, and harmony, and flowers, representing beauty, freshness, and fertility. The wonderful tradition of giving flowers to lovers and dedicating poems to them arose in the Middle Ages.
The date of February 14 as an annual holiday of love originated in 1400. That year, a society known as the “Court of Love” appeared in France as a distraction from the plague epidemic. This informal club was created at the French King Charles VI’s court and initially included 950 people, from the king himself to the petty bourgeoisie. The society charter stated that every February 14, members were required to gather for dinner. During the party, men would sing songs they had composed for the ladies. They also participated in poetry and dance competitions, where the foremost critics of their work were the female audience. All their creations were centered around the theme of love and passion.
Today, in the age of computer technology and the rise of artificial intelligence, many people can no longer remember the last time they wrote heartfelt letters by hand or pulled them out of their mailbox. The era of paper messages with its unhurried writing of letters, the exciting process of sealing or opening an envelope, and a long wait for an answer is a thing of the past. In the hectic 21st century, we do not have time to appreciate all the nuances of the epistolary genre, so we use less spiritual but speedy correspondence like e-mail, social networks, or instant messengers. We do not create holiday Valentines ourselves, but we purchase them in the stores with ready-made templates. But in the past, such letters were essential communication and made a special emotional relationship between people. The first Valentine’s author is the French duke and poet Charles of Orleans. In 1415, during the Battle of Agincourt, he was captured by the English and imprisoned. Like the Christian martyr Valentine, he sent romantic messages to his beloved wife Bonnet from the Tower of London prison. Charles of Orleans wrote his wife a series of love poems to overcome boredom. He called her “my Valentine” in his letters, decorated with hearts. One of these letters is still kept in the British Museum in London.
Over time, celebrating the day of love will become increasingly popular. In Europe, particularly in England and France, Valentine’s Day began to be celebrated in the 13th century. In the United States, it became popular around the end of the 18th century. Initially, the custom of sending romantic letters existed only among wealthy people, who hired artists and poets. And it was an expensive pleasure. An active exchange of postcards and letters with lovers and friends began in the 17th and 18th centuries. The lovers made postcards using silk, feathers, dried flowers, beads, and multi-colored paper, signing them with colorful ink. The letters were often decorated with images of flowers, hearts, cupids, and romantic poetry.
While the English are considered pioneers in the tradition, the French have added poetic content to love letters. For those who did not have a poetic talent, there were “Valentine’s books” containing ready-made poems that could be used for love cards.
Did you know that on Valentine’s Day, some sent not pleasant, romantic congratulations but spiteful, soul-wounding messages, so-called “vinegar valentines?” This postcard type was popular in the Victorian and 19th centuries, especially in Britain and America. These unpleasant messages contained rude caricatures and sarcastic writing expressing negative feelings and emotions. Malicious statements could relate to the recipient’s profession, appearance, inclination to drunkenness, or gluttony. They were cheap and usually sent anonymously. Often, such unpleasant postcards were sent to suffragettes, who were shamed incognito with the suggestion that their struggle for the right to vote diminished their sexual attractiveness. The insulting notes were often torn apart and burned. Many believe that the reasons for such inhumane behavior on Valentine’s Day were strict etiquette, observance of subordination, and traditional politeness, which were the norms in Victorian England. Perhaps it was a way to let off steam or show an ironic position on feelings and relationships. It was challenging to express this openly in that society. Initially, the custom of sending vinegar valentines existed only in England but gradually became popular in the United States. Such prickly messages sometimes led even to tragic outcomes. In 1847, a lady from New York committed suicide after receiving a vinegar valentine from the person she loved. In England, one gentleman shot his wife in a fit of rage when he received a vinegar valentine from her. After such incidents, the police began to close shops that sold these evil valentines. The post office also refused to send them. This evil tradition was finally eliminated in England at the end of the 19th century. However, it continued in other parts of the world until the Second World War.
The development of printing led to the creation of printed valentines. At the beginning of the 19th century, they went into mass production. Initially, they were cheap, dim black and white products of low-quality paper. But gradually, their appearance became more and more elaborate and colorful. Later, people realized that valentines made a great addition to the main gift, and the best paper, lace, and satin ribbons were used in their production.
The tradition of celebrating Valentine’s Day was brought to North America by immigrants from Great Britain. However, the holiday and postcards for lovers in the United States were popularized by Esther Howland from Worcester, Massachusetts. Because of her contributions, she became known as the “Mother of the American Valentine.” According to legend, in 1847, Esther received an English Valentine’s card from one of her father’s business partners. Perhaps the gentleman did not receive proper favor from Esther, but he gave her a great business idea. The enterprising girl decided that buying beautiful postcards from England was expensive, so she decided it would be more profitable to create them herself. Fortunately, her father owned a large book and stationery store, SA Howland and Sons. With her parents’ encouragement, Esther Howland ordered exquisite paper, lace, and trim from suppliers in England and Germany. The finished products were sold with the help of traveling salesman brothers. Esther hired friends and set up a home conveyor production. She opened an office in the guest room of the family residence on Summer Street. It should be noted that only women worked on its assembly line, although in those days, only 10-15% of women worked outside the home. She personally developed the design of valentines, and the assistants carefully copied each card. One person cut out the pictures and put them in boxes, another made the backgrounds, and the third decorated the messages with annual sales profits reaching approximately $100,000. She introduced innovative design elements, such as nested messages in postcards, painted silk, and elaborate folding. There were simple postcards for five cents and expensive ones for $1, a significant amount for that time. Esther created expensive Valentines using silk, satin, ribbons, and gilded thin lace. Eventually, Esther named her venture the New England Valentine Company. In February 1850, the first advertisement for her valentines appeared in the Worcester Daily Spy. Her signature style has been recognized as commercially successful due to the beauty of her designs and her commitment to meeting customer demand. Americans have always enjoyed receiving colorful valentines on Valentine’s Day, along with marzipan hearts. Until the 19th century, these sweet treats were considered highly desirable and expensive gifts, as only the wealthy could afford such delicacies.
In Germany, celebrating Valentine’s Day began much later, only after World War II. It is believed that American soldiers brought Valentine’s Day to the country. The first “St. Valentine’s Ball” occurred in Nuremberg on February 14, 1950. Since then, it has gained widespread popularity. Advertising campaigns of the flower industry were essential in promoting Valentine’s Day to the public. Sometimes, it is humorously called the “Day of German Flower Shops.”
On Valentine’s Day in Germany, you can ride the unusual Flirt Express trains and find your soul mate. Such trips are designed for romantic speed dating, where two single people sit opposite each other and chat. Each couple has five minutes to chat, and then passengers change seats for new acquaintances. If they have found a common language on such a trip, they can continue their date at reserved cafes and bars near the stations. In case of mutual sympathy, participants will receive contact details from the railway company by e-mail in a few days.
During the Second World War, letters became a crucial thing connecting parted hearts. For those in the military, the post office played a vital role in maintaining high spirits and morale. Valentine’s was a meaningful way to express love and affection. At the World War II National Museum in New Orleans, you can see valentines that a young American woman, Jean Porritt, sent to her husband, a soldier. Due to the war, newlyweds and future parents Richard and Jean Porritt could not spend Valentine’s Day together. Therefore, they could only demonstrate their deep connection through these love letters. Jean missed her husband so much that she expressed her boundless love to him not with one but with a whole series of romantic and inspiring letters.
Jean sent the first postcard before the holiday in January. Inside the illustrated folding postcard, she wrote a short phrase in turquoise ink that became a signature feature of her letters: “Love, guess who!” Below that, she drew an arrow indicating he should look for the answer on the back. On the reverse side, Jean expressed how much she missed her husband and how desperately she awaited his return. A week later, she sent two more letters. In early February, she sent him her portrait. Two days before Valentine’s Day, Richard received another love letter in which Jean recalled the joyful moments they shared before military circumstances separated them. On the last page was the imprint of a kiss. To evoke pleasant memories for her husband, Jean sprinkled the letter with the perfume she had worn during their wedding and honeymoon. Finally, a month after Valentine’s Day, she sent one last Valentine because she still had an unused card. She demonstrated her creativity by crossing out a few words to turn it into a congratulatory message.
On Valentine’s Day, you can also find quite unusual traditions. For example, the Danes came up with their unique way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. On this day, men send their ladies anonymously Gaekkebrev – these are short poems or rhymed love notes. The only clue about a secret admirer is the number of letters in the sender’s name. The recipient must guess who her admirer is. If she identifies the name correctly, she will win an Easter egg. If not, she has to give him an egg.
In Italy, February 14 is known as the “Sweet Holiday. A popular gift on this day is Baci Perugina, which is small hazelnuts covered in chocolate icing. Each candy contains a romantic note printed in four languages. There is a belief that the more chocolate you give, the stronger your love will grow.
An ordinary tomato takes on special meaning in France on Valentine’s Day. In French, a tomato is called “pomme d’amour,” meaning “apple of love.” Preparing a tomato salad in the shape of a heart for your loved one inspires deep love and lasting devotion.
In Iceland, men give women pendants made of small stones; in return, they receive necklaces with coals. The friction between two minerals can ignite a flame of passion. The popular gifts in Wales are the carved wooden “spoons of love” decorated with images of hearts, keys, and locks, conveying the message: “Unlock my heart.”
The most extravagant Valentine’s gift was given to the opera singer Maria Callas. In 1960, her lover, the Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis, presented her with a heart of gold encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, and other precious stones. At the time of the creation of the jewelry in the 60s, its cost was estimated at $300,000. The packaging for such a luxurious gift was a mink coat.
Valentine’s Day is not celebrated in nature, but an atmosphere of pure, genuine love is there. For example, the relationship of a swan couple is characterized by devotion and mutual care. A romantic scene occurs when the birds swim towards each other and form the shape of a heart when touching the head and neck.
Fascinating examples of care and passion can be found in the animal kingdom. Male emperor penguins present to females the finest, smoothest stones. This romantic gesture is made during the courtship period. For the female penguin, such a stone is more valuable than any diamond, as it will become an essential part of a future home where the eggs will be kept safe. Flightless birds, like adult emperor penguins, when they tilt their heads to their cub together, also create the outline of a heart.
The ideal Valentine’s Day is probably not a one-time fountain of love made of roses, sweets, or luxurious jewelry but rather the everyday feeling of living in a celebration of love and care.
