The Origins Of Saint Valentines Day
Valentine’s Day used to be known as Saint Valentine’s Day in the not too distant past. It has been shortened to just Valentine's Day after years of use. There are many varying legends and origins of St Valentine's Day. Still, the one attributed to the saint is the most well-known of all. Throughout Valentine's Day history, it has been said that this legend is the most accurate and yet the most romantic.
During the reign of the second Emperor Claudius of Rome, the middle of February was celebrated in honour of the Roman goddess Juno. It was part of the festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a celebration of the coming of spring and included fertility rites.
The pagan celebrations centred upon the drawing of slips of paper carrying names of young men and women. Names were drawn from a pot at random pairing up couples at the ceremony. The similarity of this pagan celebration to that of St Valentine’s Day is that both celebrations expound on the union of couples. St Valentine’s Day celebrates the love of a couple for each other.
The festival of Lupercalia was renamed as Saint Valentine’s by Pope Galasius I toward the end of the 5th century to change the pagan festival into a Christian one.
St. Valentine’s Day became a day of romance from the 14th century onward.
The Priest - Valentine
It turns out that the Emperor Claudius the second had a problem. There was a severe shortage of young men willing to enlist as soldiers for his empire. Herein starts the reason why there is a St Valentine’s Day. It came to the emperor’s attention that fewer and fewer young men were entering his armies due to their attachment to their girlfriends or betrothed. To rectify the severe lack of young men in his army, the slightly insane emperor passed a law that cancelled all marriages and betrothals in all of Rome. To the addled mind of Claudius, this meant that the men would have no families or betrothed ones to miss when they went to battle for the empire.
Valentine’s Imprisonment
The priest who is said to have started the St Valentine’s Day practice did not believe in the law that the emperor passed. The name of this priest was Valentine, hence the naming of St Valentine’s Day. In secret, Valentine, the priest continued to marry the young couples who wished to get married in defiance of the emperor. Valentine did not believe that men and women wanting to marry was why men did not want to join the emperor's army.
When the emperor eventually found out about the priest who flouted his law, he imprisoned Valentine and sentenced him to death. While in prison, one of the standard practices of St Valentine’s Day began. Grateful couples whom the priest had married would throw flowers and thank you notes to the priest’s cell.
From Your Valentine
The story of St Valentine’s Day became more romantic when a prison guard’s daughter entered the scene. It is said that the guard’s daughter visited the priest frequently because she felt sorry for him. The two eventually fell in love. On the day of his execution, the priest wrote a note to the guard’s daughter signing it “from your Valentine”.
Modern Celebrations Are 500 Years Old!
The formal messages of love that we call ‘valentines’ started to become popular in the 16th century. By the 18th century, commercial printers got in on the act and began printing cards for people to buy. It’s not all Hallmark’s fault, the commercialisation of Valentine’s Day started well before Hallmark!
Valentine’s cards still recall the Roman origins with images of Cupid, the Roman god of love. Hearts the ancient symbol of emotion joined with Cupid and pairs of birds, still a common symbol, appeared because, at the time, people thought that the mating season for birds started in mid-February.
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Gift Giving At Valentines
Giving the target of one’s affections a gift began in the 17th century with flowers. Roses are an ancient symbol of love, thought to be the favourite flower of Venus, goddess of love. At around the same time, chocolate became a gift for those who could afford this luxury from the New World. Chocolate was thought to be an aphrodisiac and so had obvious romantic connotations as a gift for lovers. These days we don’t think of chocolate the same way but as a much more innocent gift, after all, who does not enjoy the sweetness! Packaging cholates in a heart-shaped or specially printed box carries the symbolism to the fortunate recipient!
Today, many men buy their loved ones gifts of jewellery. A more expensive gift of this type shows how much the man values his partner, not in money terms so much as because a gift of jewellery lasts for many years. Jewellery is a permanent reminder and keepsake.
At All Diamond, we have created several collections of jewellery for Valentine's day. The collections cover all budgets and types of jewellery ideas from necklaces to pendants to earrings and even rings. Check out what we have for you and your special person and make this Valentine’s day really special!
