Every February 14 in Nigeria, and other places around the world, it is typical to have candy, flowers and gifts exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who was this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from?
1. The roots of Valentine’s Day can be traced all the way back to a noisy Roman fertility festival held in mid February called the Lupercalia, dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Later the Roman Catholic church chose this day in Mid February as Saint Valentine’s Day in order to christianise the celebration.
2. Not much is known about Saint Valentine, for whom the celebration is named as there are about three references to a Saint Valentine. One of them was sentenced to death for performing wedding ceremonies in secret after Emperor Claudius, The Second banned marriage for young Roman men, thinking single men made better soldiers.
3. Others suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first valentine greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl–possibly his jailer’s daughter–who visited him in prison. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed From your Valentine, an expression that is still in use today.
4. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as a day in commemoration of the soft-hearted Saint Valentine at the end of the 5th century (401-500 CE).
5. It wasn’t until the 1300s that the holiday became associated with love and romance. Back then, people also believed that February 14 was the beginning of birds mating season.
6. The first written valentine’s greetings appeared in the 15th century (1401-1500 CE), while the oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt.
7. By the 17th century (1601-1700 CE), people in Great Britain had begun the tradition of exchanging cards or letters. The first mass-produced Valentine day’s cards were produced in the 1840s in the United States. And today, an estimated 1 billion Valentine Day cards are sent more than on any other holiday, except Christmas.
8. Also, more than 35 million boxes of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are sold, and more than 220 million roses are produced in a typical year for the holiday.
9. The most popular Valentine’s Day gifts are candies and flowers, followed closely by jewelry.
10. A recent survey also showed that nearly about 6 million couples are likely to get engaged on February 14.
And I bet you didn’t know all these facts about Valentine’s Day.
Source: history.com
