WHAT IS VALENTINE’S DAY AND ITS ORIGIN
The month of love is here. The big day will be celebrated on February 14th, after a week of love-filled events. Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for those in love, and it is a day when individuals show their love for their significant other. Valentine’s day is a day when people celebrate love all over the world. On this day, people give gifts, roses, or notes to their partners, crushes, and spouses to demonstrate their love. To keep the spirit of the love festival alive, several days such as teddy day, rose day, and others are celebrated for a week before Valentine’s day. Valentine’s Day falls on the 14th of February every year.
The first Valentine’s Day card had been sent by the Duke of Orléans in 1415 to his wife, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Valentine’s Day cards did not become popular in the United States until after the Revolutionary War, when individuals began penning handwritten letters to their loved ones. Cards for the holiday were not commercially made until the early 1900s. The day is also commemorated in various areas of the world by expressing love for friends and family members. Movie nights, preparing dinners with friends, and throwing a Valentine’s Day party are all popular ways to spend the day.
Valentine’s Day is popular in the United States, as well as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It is also widely celebrated in South Korea, Argentina, the Philippines, France, and Mexico. Valentine’s Day is still not frequently observed in nations such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia, despite its growing global popularity. The celebration clashes with elements of their faith in the majority of those countries. However, for political reasons, several nations oppose Valentine’s Day. Some conservative political groups in India are against Valentine’s Day because they feel it promotes Western ideals.
Valentine’s Day has thus become a day when people express their love in different ways to their loved ones. Everyone loves being treated special by those we love. While most of us celebrate Valentine’s Day with beautiful dinner dates, flowers, and presents, let’s take a look at the origin of this holiday.
ORIGIN:
● Despite the fact that there were multiple Christian martyrs called Valentine, the day has most likely been named after a priest who was executed by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus in 270 CE. As per legend, the priest sent a letter to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and, according to some stories, cured from blindness, as “from your Valentine.” Other stories claim that the holiday was named after St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, however it is likely that the two saints were one and the same. Another popular tale is that St. Valentine violated the emperor’s commands and secretly married couples to keep their husbands out of battle. His death day is known to be connected with love due to this. Saint Valentine had been sentenced to death by Emperor Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II was opposed to soldier men marrying and ordered Saint Valentine’s execution. The execution took place on February 14th.
● The ancient festival Lupercalia may also be a plausible genesis for Valentine’s Day. The celebration, which has been celebrated in the middle of February for millennia, celebrates fertility. Men would undress and sacrifice a goat and a dog. Young males would then lash young ladies with strips of hide from the sacrificial animals in order to induce fertility. Lupercalia was a prominent pagan holiday that was still observed 150 years after Christianity was made official in the Roman Empire.
● Pope Gelasius, in the fifth century, banned the pagan Lupercalia customs and united it with St. Valentine’s Day. St. Valentine’s Day festivities became more romantic once the pagan ceremonies were removed. The holiday evolved into a celebration of love and connection. Popular writers like Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare helped to popularize Valentine’s Day by writing romantic poems.
● According to some estimates, the original inception of Valentine’s Day was after a thousand years. Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas claims that in his poem The Parlement of Foules, Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to associate Valentine’s Day to romance.
● Formal notes, or valentines, first emerged in the 1500s, and commercially produced cards were widely used by the late 1700s. In the mid-nineteenth century, the first commercial valentines were produced in the United States. Cupid, the Roman god of love, is frequently shown on Valentines Day, along with hearts, which are typically the seat of emotion. Birds became a symbol of the day since it was considered that the avian mating season began in mid-February. Candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a sign of beauty and love, are traditional presents.
● The prevalence of the Internet at the turn of the millennium has spawned new customs. Every year, millions of individuals utilize digital tools like e-cards, love vouchers, and printable greeting cards to create and send Valentine’s Day greeting messages. Because of its commercialization, some people believe Valentine’s Day to be a Hallmark holiday.
● Some churches also conduct a service for St. Valentine’s Day (the Feast of St. Valentine) in the contemporary era, which includes the optional ceremony of the renewing of marriage vows.
VALENTINE’S DAY IN INDIA:
Following economic liberalization, the celebration of Valentine’s Day became increasingly popular in India. Protests have been held by organizations that believe the celebrations are influenced by the West. Protests cause law and order issues in numerous Indian cities on February 14th almost every year. Activists have raided card shops and set fire to Valentine’s Day cards and flowers in the past. Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal members have been accused of throwing rotten tomatoes at couples. Restaurants have also been attacked, according to reports. Bajrang Dal is notorious for erecting billboards advising couples not to hold hands. People who exhibit affection in public will be photographed and the images will be given to their families, according to the Shiv Sena. When vigilantes catch couples strolling in public parks, their hair is hacked off and their faces are painted black to shame them. However, in some parts of the country, youngsters still celebrate this day to show their love.
Spend this Valentine’s Day by spreading love to your significant others, family and friends!
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