A quick look at the history of Valentine’s Day
Published on Wed Feb 14 2018 in Community
On the 14th of February, Kiwis will join millions of people around the world in celebrating Valentine’s Day. This “holiday” has long been associated with love. Couples today spend billions of dollars each year on gifts, meals and more, making it one of the biggest shopping days of the year. But do you know the history behind this day of romance?
The real St. Valentine
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love and romance, but its origins have little to do with these sentiments. The day is named for two Catholic martyrs—both named Valentine—who came to be honoured on the 14th of February.1 Not much is known about these men, other than their name and where they were buried.
Legends sprung up over the years to fill the gaps in St. Valentine’s history. It is said that Valentine got into trouble with Emperor Claudius II for performing secret weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Claudius himself interrogated Valentine in person, and attempted to convert him to Roman paganism to save his life. Valentine refused, but tried to convert Claudius instead! For this, the emperor had Valentine executed.
Other embellishments to the St. Valentine story helped turn the day into a celebration of romantic love. On the evening before Valentine’s execution, he supposedly wrote a letter to a girl he cured of blindness, signing it “Your Valentine.” Thus, the first valentine card was born! It’s also said that Valentine gave soldiers parchment hearts to remind them of their wedding vows, and that he wore a ring engraved with an image of Cupid.
The earliest celebrations
For centuries St. Valentine’s Day was a relatively minor day on the Catholic calendar, and definitely not one associated with romance. We may have English poet Geoffrey Chaucer to thank for turning Valentine’s Day into the celebration of love we observe today.
In 1382 he wrote The Parliament of Birds2 to honour King Richard II’s engagement to Anne of Bohemia. The poem contains the following lines:
For this was on St. Valentine’s Day,
When every bird cometh there to choose his mate.
It sounds like Chaucer is referring to an established tradition, but curiously this is the first recorded mention of Valentine’s Day being a special time for lovers. This idea may have grown and evolved over the years, or Chaucer may very well have thought of it himself. We may never know!
The earliest description of 14 February as an annual celebration is found in the Charter of the Court of Love, written in 1400.3 Members of the French royal court were said to take part in festivities including a feast, song and poetry competitions, and dancing. Attending ladies were asked to hear disputes from lovers and rule on which partner was in the right.
Modern romance
By the late 1700s, Valentine’s Day was an established part of the English calendar. Printers were already producing special greeting cards for the day, though many people still made their own using real lace and ribbons. Paper valentines gained popularity, and by 1841 some 400,000 were sent by post in Britain! Settlers brought the tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards to New Zealand, with newspapers here mentioning this practice, and others, as early as the 1870s.4
Cadbury helped make chocolate a part of Valentine’s Day. In 1868, the company created a decorated, heart-shaped box of chocolates especially for the day. Sweets are still a popular present, with nearly 50 per cent of those celebrating Valentine’s Day planning to give their loved one chocolate or lollies.5
How do you celebrate?
New Zealanders continue to mark Valentine’s Day with cards and chocolates, but our spending in other areas also increases each February. Restaurants, movie theatres, travel agents, and florists all get a boost in the lead up to the big day.6 Even pet shops and beauty salons see more business thanks to Valentine’s Day!
Of course, not everyone likes to observe this day of romance. “Anti-Valentine’s Day” events are sometimes held in pubs, giving single people a place to mingle away from loved-up couples. Even those with a significant other may opt to stay in. Some people view Valentine’s Day as a commercial holiday, designed to encourage unnecessary spending. For them, forgoing gifts and spending a quiet evening at home is the perfect way to say “I love you.”
No matter how you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the popular holiday is likely here to stay!
How do you observe Valentine’s Day—dinner, dancing, a night in? Share your date night ideas with us on Facebook.
1. Catholic Online, St. Valentine
2. Librarius, The Parliament of Fowls
3. University of Oxford, Love lessons from medieval literature
4. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Love and romance
5. Statistic Brain, Valentines Day Statistics
6. Stuff.co.nz, Big burst of spending for Valentine’s weekend
About Author: Momentum Life is a leading provider of Life insurance and Funeral insurance in New Zealand.
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