 Every February, all up and down the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, in the name of St. Valentine, but few us know much about his history or why this holiday is so widely celebrated. The absolute origins of Valentine's Day as well as its patron saint are cloaked in the darkness of times past and the "facts" may be as much fiction as not. History does tell us that February has for centuries been a month of romance and the holiday is known to be some mixture of old Roman traditions which became overlaid with Christian views and practices. So, who then really was Saint Valentine and what does it have to do with the holiday? The Catholic Church recognizes at least three martyred Saints named Valentine or Valentinus. One legend says Valentine was a third century priest living in Rome under the rule of Emperor Claudius II. The story goes that the Emperor thought single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, so he outlawed the marriage of young men who were his most likely source of recruits. Valentine felt the Emperor was unjust in the matter, and he secretly continued to perform marriages for young lovers. When the the Emperor learned of the defiant actions of the priest, he ordered Valentine put to death. Other poorly substantiated tales suggest that Valentine may have been killed for helping Christians escape torture and beatings in Roman prisons (Christians were much prosecuted a the time). Another vague tale suggests that Valentine was sent to prison for a time before his execution and there Valentine became enamored of a pretty young girl who is said to have comforted him during his prison confinement. The story suggests that Valentine wrote her a note or letter, which he signed "From your Valentine." A signature that remains popular even to this day. There is not sufficient evidence behind these representations to give much credence to them, but as the saying goes, where there is smoke there is fire. Certainly something substantial must lie behind such a powerful tradition because by the Middle Ages, about a thousand years after his death around 270 AD, Saint Valentine had become established as one of the best known, most popular Saints in France and England. Some historians believe that Valentine's Day is observed in the mid February to mark the anniversary of his execution but others suggest the Christian church made a political decision to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'Christianize' or to over-shadow celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. Lupercalia began February 15 and was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. By the mid seventeen hundreds, friends and lovers of all classes commonly gave each other small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By 1800 the printing industry began to make printed cards affordable and available. These cards soon began to displace the use of hand written letters. The pre-printed, ready to use cards were an easy way for people to give some expression to their innermost feelings in an era when people were expected to keep a "stiff upper lip" and avoid expressing their emotions. Affordable postage rates also made a big contribution to the wide circulation of Valentine's greetings. It appears that in the early to mid 1700s Americans were exchanging hand-crafted Valentine's greeting cards and, around 1844 Esther A. Howland (Mother of the Valentine) began to promote and market commercially produced valentines in America. Her valentine greetings were adorned with real ribbons and lace. Valentine's Day is celebrated in France, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
HMS Crown, Inc.
Contact
|
Quality Guaranteed!
See
What
Satisfaction always unconditionally guaranteed. |
All HMS Crown
products are formulated and processed in the United States
