Valentine's Day Wasn't Always Romantic
Today Valentine’s Day has a broad reach. Around the globe, Valentine’s Day is regarded as a day of romance. Young lovers and lovers with history take a moment to reflect about their mates and shower them with cards, gifts and dinners. The Valentine’s Day celebration is universal and Valentine’s Day is now the second most active card delivery day in the year.
February 14th was not always that way. The origins of the day may add a little luster and inside knowledge for your next Valentine’s Day celebration.
Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century A.D. The Roman Emperor in 246 A.D. was Claudius II. Claudius feared that his army was falling apart and that his legions no longer displayed the disciplined loyalty that characterised the Roman Empire.
In his efforts to inspire his troops, the vicious emperor confronted families and young lovers declaring that all recent marriages were null and all engagements were illegal. Marriage was to be forbidden.
At the time, the main religion in Rome was Christianity. Valentine was sympathetic to the couples of the day and went about secretly marrying hundreds of lovers. When Claudius discovered Valentine’s treachery, the priest was arrested. The Emperor determined the priest was to remain in jail until he was beheaded.
The jail keeper’s daughter befriended the hapless priest. Valentine fancied the young woman and began to write her notes of affection. Just prior to his execution, the priest, who was to be canonised several centuries later, wrote the young woman his last card. He signed the first Valentine’s Day card “from your valentine.” The date of this note was February14, 270 A.D.
For many centuries Valentine’s Day remained a rather somber day of feast honoring the priest’s bravery. In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer added the romantic flair to the holiday. Chaucer believed this to be a perfect spring date to renew romance and honor love. He authored several passages decalri8ng Valentine’s Day to be the day of love. The tradition remained a British day of romantic celebration for centuries.
Charles, the Duke of Orleans, created the first known British Valentine’s Day card. The Duke was imprisoned in the Tower of London following the battle of Agincourt. Charles sent his wife several poems and love letters attesting to his undying love. The most prominent of these letters was sent on February 14th, 1415. The original letter is now preserved in the British Museum.
The good news is that you do not have to be imprisoned to send a meaningful Valentine’s Day Card. The bad news is that should you forget to send a card on February 14th, you may feel a little like Charles when confronted by your mate.