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HISTORY
Valentine's Day
is a celebration of romantic love occurring annually on February 14.
Although it is associated by legend with a Catholic saint named
Valentine, modern Valentine's Day is not a religious holiday. Today's
Valentine's Day has historical roots both in Greco-Roman pagan fertility
festivals and the medieval notion that birds pair off to mate on
February 14.
The custom of exchanging cards and other tokens of love on February 14
began to develop in England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries
and became especially popular in the United States in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
Over the last decade or so, Valentine's Day observance has spread to the
Far East, India, and the Middle East. In Japan, China and Taiwan,
distinctive customs have developed to mark the day of love, most of
which reflect the commercialistic emphasis of the West. In India and the
Middle East, Valentine's Day has met with a warm reception among many,
especially urban youth, but strong consternation from some conservative
Hindus and Muslims.
History of Valentine's Day
The association of the middle of February with love and fertility dates
to ancient times. In ancient Athens, the period between mid-January and
mid-February was the month of Gamelion, which was dedicated to the
sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.
Lupercalia,
precursor to Valentine's Day.
In ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia, the festival of Lupercus
(or Faunus), the god of fertility. As part of the purification ritual,
the priests of Lupercus would sacrifice goats and a dog to the god, and
after drinking wine, they would run through the streets of Rome striking
anyone they met with pieces of the goat skin. Young women would come
forth voluntarily for the occasion, believing that being touched by the
goat skin would render them fertile. Young men would also draw names
from an urn, choosing their "blind date" for the coming year. In 494 AD
the Christian church under Pope Gelasius I appropriated the some aspects
of the rite as the Feast of the Purification.
In Christianity, at least three different saints named Valentine or
Valentinus, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early lives of the
saints under the date of February 14. Two of the Valentines lived in
Italy in the third century: one as a priest at Rome, the other as bishop
of Terni. They are both said to have been martyred in Rome and buried on
the Flaminian Way. A third St. Valentine was martyred in North Africa
and very little else is known of him.
Several legends have developed around one or more of these Valentines,
two of which are especially popular. According to one account, Emperor
Claudius II outlawed marriage for all young men because he believed
unmarried men made better soldiers. Valentine defied Claudius and
continued to perform marriages for young couples and was put to death by
the emperor for it. A related legend has Valentine writing letters from
prison to his beloved, signing them "From your Valentine."
However, the connection between St. Valentine and romantic love is not
mentioned in any early histories and is regarded by historians as purely
a matter of legend. The feast of St. Valentine was first declared to be
on February 14 by Pope Gelasius I around 498. It is said the pope
created the day to counter the practice held on Lupercalia, but this is
not attested in any sources from that era.
The first recorded association of St. Valentine's Day with romantic love
was in the 14th century in England and France, where it was believed
that February 14 was the day on which birds paired off to mate. Thus we
read in Geoffrey Chaucer's (c. 1343-1400) Parliament of Fowls, believed
to be the first Valentine's Day poem:
For this was on saint Valentine's day,
When every fowl comes there to choose his mate.
It became common during that era for lovers to exchange notes on
Valentine's Day and to call each other their "Valentines." The first
Valentine card was sent by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife in 1415
when he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. Valentine's Day love
notes were often given anonymously. It is probable that many of the
legends about St. Valentine developed during this period (see above). By
the 1700s, verses like "Roses are red, violets are blue" became popular.
By the 1850s, romantics in France began embellishing their valentine
cards with gilt paper, ribbons and lace.
Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th
century with settlers from Britain. In the United States, the first
mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold
shortly after 1847 by Esther A. Howland (1828 - 1904) of Worcester,
Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store,
and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received.
Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual
"Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".
In the 19th century, relics of St. Valentine were donated by Pope
Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin,
Ireland, which has become a popular place of pilgrimage on February 14.
But in 1969, as part of a larger effort to pare down the number of saint
days of legendary origin, the Church removed St. Valentine's Day as an
official holiday from its calendar.
Valentine's Day Customs and Traditions
The primary custom associated with St. Valentine's Day is the mutual
exchange of love notes called valentines. Common symbols on valentines
are hearts, the colors red and pink, and the figure of the winged Cupid.
Starting in the 19th century, the practice of hand writing notes began
to give way to the exchange of mass-produced greeting cards. These cards
are no longer given just to lovers, but also to friends, family,
classmates and coworkers. Valentine cards are often accompanied by tiny
candy hearts with affectionate messages printed on them.
The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion
valentine cards are sent worldwide each year, making Valentine's Day the
second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The
association also estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent
of all valentines.
In the last 50 years or so, especially in the United States, the
practice of exchanging cards has been extended to include the giving of
gifts, usually from a man to his girlfriend or wife. The most popular
Valentine's Day gifts are roses and chocolate. Starting in the 1980s,
the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for
the giving of fine jewelry. Many couples also schedule a romantic dinner
date on Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day in
China and Japan
Thanks to a concentrated marketing effort, Valentine's Day has emerged
in Japan as a day on which women give chocolates to men they like. This
has become for many women – especially those who work in offices – an
obligation, and they give chocolates to all their male co-workers
(especially the boss), sometimes at significant personal expense. This
chocolate is known as giri-choco, which translates as "chocolate of
obligation."
By a further marketing effort, a reciprocal day called White Day has
emerged in Japan. On this day (March 14), men are supposed to return the
favor by giving something to those who gave them chocolates on
Valentine's Day. Many men, however, give only to their girlfriends. The
gift should be white (hence the name) and is often lingerie.
Valentine's Day is also celebrated in China, as is the related
Daughter's Festival. It is held on the 7th month and 7th day of the
lunar calendar and celebrates a love story between the seventh daughter
of the Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd, who were sent to
separate stars and only allowed to see each other on this one day each
year. The next Daughter's Festival will be on August 11, 2005.
Valentine's Day Controversy in India and the Middle East
Valentine's Day only arrived in India a few years ago, but it has
quickly gained popularity among young urban people along with a great
deal of controversy among conservative Hindus. Traditional Hindu culture
discourages public displays of affection between the sexes, including
hand-holding, which Valentine's Day encourages, and Valentine's Day is
also resented by some as a Christian and western influence.
Valentine's Day
protest in India. (Source: BBC News)
In 2004, militant Hindu nationalists threatened to beat the faces and
shave the heads of those who participated in Valentine's Day customs.
"We will not allow westernization of Indian culture as St. Valentine was
a Christian and celebrating Valentine's Day would be a violation of
Indian culture," said Ved Prakash Sachchan, of the militant Hindu
organization Bajrang Dal, in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, a leader of the
radical Hindu group Shiv Sena has condemned the holiday as "nothing but
a Western onslaught on India's culture to attract youth for commercial
purposes." Members of the group have stolen Valentine's Day greeting
cards from a store and ceremonially burned them.
Similar Valentine's Day backlash has occurred in many Muslim countries.
In Pakistan in 2004, the Jamaat-e-Islami party, an Islamist
organization, called for a ban on Valentine's Day. One of its leaders
dismissed it as "a shameful day" when Westerners "are just fulfilling
and satisfying their sex thirst." Also in 2004, the government of Saudi
Arabia issued an edict declaring that "there are only two holidays in
Islam - Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha - and any other holidays ... are
inventions which Muslims are banned from." Police closely monitored
stores selling roses and some women were arrested for wearing red.
Despite this official opposition from authorities, many people in Middle
Eastern countries seem to be enjoying the new holiday. One shopper,
buying a red heart-and-rose card for her son-in-law, is reported as
having dismissed the backlash as "only rigidity and cultural
backwardness. Through the crackdown, they only buy people's greater
hatred and enmity."
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Valentine's Day Flowers to India
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