1. The Real Saint Valentine Is Shrouded In Mystery

Although he lived within the third century AD, virtually nothing is known about this saint or the life he led. It’s not even clear what number of holy men named Valentine there were, or which one is honored on Valentine’s Day.

Regardless, bits and items in regards to the saint have made it into the realm of legends. The consensus is that he was a priest who broke the law doing what he believed in. Some tales say he performed marriages between soldiers and their beloveds. In Rome throughout that point, this was towards the law. Soldiers weren’t allowed to marry. When Valentine was caught, he was imprisoned and put to loss of life for defying Roman rules.

One other story additionally includes his imprisonment, however this time for practising his faith and refusing to worship the emperor. While in prison, he turned friends with the jailer’s daughter. He prayed for her, and he or she was healed of her maladies. On the night of his execution, Valentine gave his friend a note to comfort her. It read, quite simply, “From Your Valentine.”

2. Matchmaking Was An Ancient Roman Tradition That Preceded Valentine’s Day

Lupercalia was a festival that took place every year in historical Rome between the 13th and 15th of February. Its purpose was to cleanse and protect the community. A number of the festival traditions were meant to get rid of evil spirits and bless crops.

There was additionally a matchmaking component to the festivities. Women put their names in an urn. Males picked names from the urn. The couples formed by this lottery system have been expected to remain collectively for a year. Surprisingly, many of those random matches resulted in marriages.

Centuries later, this historic celebration merged with the newer tradition of honoring Saint Valentine on February 14. The newer holiday was a lot more subdued, but a number of the festival’s romantic points carried forward.

3. Valentine Cards Became All The Rage In Victorian England

In the Middle Ages, noblemen wrote (or hired others to write for them) impassioned love notes to their expensive ones. However it wasn’t until the Victorian Era within the mid-1800s that sending valentine cards became a well-liked custom.

First it was handmade cards embellished with lace and ribbon. These had been fancy cards with intricate designs that included cutouts and pop-ups. The tradition was popularized in England and made its way to the U.S. a number of decades later.

With advances in printing technology, cards started to be mass-produced. Right this moment a hundred and eighty million valentine cards are exchanged every year in the U.S. alone. Designs proceed to evolve, but coronary heart and floral themes remain as common as they had been in Victorian times.

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Cassandra Walpole