This is the day when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. Over the last few years, the holiday of valentine’s has gained a tremendous significance in our lives but where did it come from and how did it evolve to its present form?
The holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, is said to have included fertility rites, including the pairing off of women with men by lottery.
Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day. It came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century. Common legend states that St. Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war. It is for this reason that his feast day is associated with love.
The messages we exchange these days first appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s, commercially printed cards were being used. The first commercial valentine’s day cards in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s.
The day is popular in the United States as well as in Britain, Canada, and Australia, and it is also celebrated in other countries, including Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines, it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date.
The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends.
Does not matter whom you love, it is always a great idea to let them know. And what better than having a full day dedicated to just that.
