Valentine’s Day has only been celebrated as a day of romance since the 14th century. Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus around 270 AD.

Valentine’s Day is a public holiday on which lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. Due to the similarities, it is assumed that the holiday has its origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the mating of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I banned the celebration of Lupercalia and is sometimes credited with replacing it with Valentine’s Day, but the true origin of the holiday is vague at best. Valentine’s Day has only been celebrated as a day of romance since the 14th century.

Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have gotten its name from a priest who was martyred by Emperor Cladius II Gothicus around 270 AD. According to legend, the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to the daughter of his gaoler, whom he had befriended and, according to some reports, cured of her blindness. According to other accounts, it was St Valentine of Terni, a bishop, after whom the holiday was named, although it is possible that the two saints were actually one person. Another popular legend says that St Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to save the husbands from war. For this reason, his feast day is associated with love.

Formal messages or valentines began to appear in the 1500s, and commercially printed cards were used in the late 1700s. The first commercial Valentine’s Day cards were printed in the United States in the mid-1800s. Valentine’s Day cards usually feature Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, which traditionally represent the seat of emotion. Since it was believed that mid-February was the beginning of the mating season for birds, birds also came to symbolize the day. Traditional gifts include sweets and flowers, especially red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.

The day is popular in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. It is also celebrated in other countries, such as Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines, it is the most common wedding day, and mass weddings with hundreds of couples are not uncommon on this day. The holiday has expanded to include expressions of affection among relatives and friends. Many schoolchildren exchange Valentine’s cards with each other on this day. I recommend that you watch this video

Written by Yağız Edited by İklim

Source: https://youtu.be/EbtuzxNGrCM?si=lBWXAIWXpMqm1jyW