Celebration of Valentine Week
Love is a special feeling that transcends space and time. Every year we celebrate this eternal and soulful emotion in February. It is called valentines day. It is a commemoration of human bond, devotion, fellowship, and passion. For ages, this day has been significant in the life of men and women.
Every occasion has its significance. The celebrations continue for a particular period and end especially. To make it unique, the festival of love is a week-long event. This week is called valentine’s week. Each day in this week depicts the little things that we give to bring a smile to the face of our loved ones. The different days of valentine are Rose Day, Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Promise Day, Hug Day, Kiss Day, and finally, Valentine Day. People all over the world recognize the power of love on this day. It usually involves sending words or messages of love between friends and lovers. Most people also engage in exchanging small tokens of gifts to appreciate their beautiful relationships.
History of St.Valentine Day
Valentine’s day week is a widely recognized festival of romance. However, it has a very grave history that accompanies it. The valentine’s day significance lies in a few legends of Middle Age Rome. Though these legends vary slightly from each other, they all mention one central character on whom they are based. These legends are about Saint Valentine. Although the day marks the joy that love can spread to our hearts, it sure was a heart-wrenching experience for the saint. In history, there are almost three saints named Valentine who lived during the middle age. All three of these men were killed even though they did good deeds. They were men who served people and had tried to reduce their pain. One of the saints even tried to prevent the innocent men from being tortured. Below are the two most famous legends that are said to be the real reason why Valentine’s day came into existence.
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Legend of King Claudius II
According to one of the legends, Saint Valentine was a Catholic priest under the Roman church in the 3rd Century. The kind saint served under a cruel king named Claudius II. The king was a cold-hearted ruler who was absolutely against romantic affairs and marriages. According to him, love made any man unsuitable to serve the nation. If soldiers fell in love, they would lose their battle. They would think about their family and lovers more and not be able to fight the wars fearlessly. He believed love would distract them from their purpose and make them worry about the condition of their family after their death.
King Claudius II, therefore, prohibited the youth of his kingdom from marrying or being in love with any woman. The king would mercilessly punish those who disobeyed his order. The rule made the soldiers very unhappy and scared. The saint, Valentine, was against this restriction and felt the pain of the soldiers. He took up the duty to marry the soldiers in secret so that the king and his men would not get informed. However, after some time, the king got to know about this conduct. He sentenced Valentine to death.
Legend of Saint Valentine and the Jailor’s Daughter
This legend tells that the valentine’s day date, February 14th was the day of execution of Saint Valentine. Moreover, he was the first one to send a romantic greeting to his lover. When the saint was in jail, he had fallen in love with a young maiden. She was the daughter of the jailor and probably visited him during his imprisonment. While Valentine waited for his death, he had written a love letter to his lady love by signing off as-- from your Valentine.
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The Origin of the Celebration and its Significance
Pope Gelasius had declared the 14th of February as St. Valentine's day, at the end of the 5th Century. While some believe that this day is the death or burial of the saint in A.D. 270, others consider the day to have marked Lupercalia, a pagan festival of fertility. This festival is dedicated to Faunas, the goddess of Agriculture in Rome and, Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. Later on, this festival got outlawed under Christianity. The sacrifices and deeds of the legendary saint became the valentines day significance. The service of the saint Valentine is widely remembered even today.
It eventually became a day of romance. During the Middle Ages, the middle of February was thought to be the beginning of the mating season for birds. This day gained its popularity gradually. One of the first poets to write about the romantic idea of St.Valentine’s Day was Geoffrey Chaucer. He has written about this day in the 'Parliament of Foules' 1375 poem. Sending romantic messages to lovers has been going on since the Middle Ages. One of the oldest pieces of evidence of such a heartfelt poem has survived. It was by Charles, the Duke of Orleans to his wife. Even King Henry V had hired a poet to write a note for Catherine of Valois.
The Valentine’s Week
Partners, friends, and lovers exchange small gifts, chocolates, and flowers in addition to love notes and postcards in valentine’s week. After the advancement in technology and the discovery of printing, ready-made greetings cards became more popular tokens of affection. According to the official data, the total number of cards sent each year on this day is around 145 million. Today, the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia celebrate most prominently. Usually, the restaurants are very crowded as couples prefer to go for lunch or dinner dates. Many people plan for picnics or short trips to spend time with their valentine. Fresh flowers are in high demand during this time.
The week begins with the 7th of February, the rose day date. The tradition is to gift your lover with beautiful red roses, a mark of romance. The following days encourage you to grow and strengthen your bond with the better half by proposing, exchanging small tokens of affection like chocolates and teddy bears, and enjoying the warmth of a deep hug. The 11thh of February is the promised day which emphasizes the value of giving the word to be with each other in love and life. The kiss day seals the beautiful bond of love. Last but not least is the most important, Valentine's Day.
Did You Know?
Many believe that Valentine’s Day came into existence and prominence more to remove a pagan tradition and festival called Lupercalia. It was a strategy by the Christian church and the then pope to bring about more sense of Christianity in society.
Thousands of Italians in Verona write letters dedicated to 'Juliet’, each year on Valentine's Day. Based on the backdrop of Verona Romeo and Juliet were the ardent but tragic lovers of William Shakespeare. The Juliet Club answers all these letters individually. They give the award “Cara Giuletta”, to the writer of the best letter.
FAQs on Valentine's Day
Q1. Who is the chubby child portrayed on Valentine’s Day cards?
The chubby child displayed on the greetings cards is Cupid, a Roman mythological figure. Cupid is usually a child with a bow and an arrow. He is supposed to be blindfolded and shoots his arrows at random people who become lovers. Thus, portraying the concept, love is blind. Cupid arises from Greek mythology. The Greek form of Cupid is known as Eros, the God of love and the son of the Goddess Aphrodite. The God of love Eros was very handsome and had golden arrows that he shot at unsuspecting Gods and men. He plays with their emotions. His arrows inject the emotion of love and romantic feelings into the targets. Thus, removing bitterness and aversion. Eros in Greek mythology has not been portrayed as a child. However in the Hellenistic period, due to his mischievous nature, he was considered to be a naughty, chubby and naked little child who was very innocent and playful.
Q2. What happened at the pagan festival of fertility?
Lupercalia was a Roman festival of fertility that was celebrated in mid-February around the time of valentine’s day. The Roman priests known as Luperci performed the sacrificial ceremony. At the cave, where Romulus and Remus were believed to have been born and taken care of by a wolf, a goat and a dog were sacrificed. Goat symbolizes fertility and dog represents purity. Then they would cut the skin of the goat into strips and use the hide to tap women and the crop fields, gently. The goat hides were also dipped into the sacrificial blood. It was considered to be very holy by the women and believed that it would make them fertile. As a part of the tradition, the women would write their names down and put them in an urn for the bachelors to choose from. The paired men and women were meant to marry each other.
