The history of Valentines is quite unclear and the name of the event is thought to stem from a saint although this is still not known who this exact person is due to differing between people and countries alike.
The catholic church, for example, recognises three different saints known as St Valentine. The first Valentine’s day was in the year 496 AD, and this is rumoured to be due to the Roman festival of Lupercalia which occurs in Spring. Rituals for this festival include boys drawing names of girls from a box, which would then mean they became partners during the festival and maybe even after. This progressed to what we know today as typical traditions such as exchanging cards and gifts from the early 1700s.
According to Hallmark, 145 million Valentine’s day cards are sent each year which makes it the second most popular card sending holiday to Christmas.
Different countries have very different celebrations for this holiday. Argentinians, for example, celebrate a ‘week of sweetness’ in July rather than in February. Another variation to the UK’s celebrations is seen in South Korea where couples celebrate ‘a day of love’ on the 14th of every month throughout the year. In Estonia, it is a more platonic honouring with February 14th being a ‘Friendship day’ which includes couples and families exchanging gifts to celebrate love.
A history of valentines, showcases the history of love, and how important it is in our society.
Picture Credits: Pexels
