Valentine’s Day, Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine – whichever grabs your fancy (pun intended!) – is celebrated annually on 14th February. Originally a Christian feast day honouring a martyr called Valentine, through today’s folk traditions it has also become a well known cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love around the world.
History shows that, in the third century, Saint Valentine of Rome was persecuted under the Roman Empire for ministering to Christians and performed weddings for them as at the time these were forbidden. Subsequently he was imprisoned after he had refused a request from Emperor Claudius II to convert to Roman paganism – and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead! Legend has it that through a miracle, Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer, Asterius, which resulted in the entire 46-member household, family and servants, believing in Jesus and being baptized. Just before his execution, he wrote the purported first ever “Valentine” card himself – as a farewell to her and signed “From your Valentine”.
When courtly love flourished in the 14th and 15th centuries – the day became associated with the lovebirds of early spring and became an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers, confectionery and greeting cards – also known as “valentines”. Other symbols included the well-known heart-shaped outline, doves and winged Cupids.
Originally traced back to 1590 in Edmund Spenser’s epic “The Faerie Queen”, the updated, more modern version of the “Roses Are Red” verse we are familiar with, can be found in Gammer Gurton’s Garland, a collection of English nursery rhymes published in 1784 in London, by Joseph Johnson:
“The rose is red, the violet’s blue,
The honey’s sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou’d be you.”
Back then, young lovers sent paper Valentines, decorated with real lace and ribbons. In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained many suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his or her own. Although postage was extremely expensive, nonetheless in 1835 some 60,000 valentine cards were posted in the UK!
With the introduction of the Penny Black postage stamp in 1940 and the resultant reduction in postal rates, it was recorded that 400,000 valentine cards were sent in that year. The easier practice of mailing valentines also made it possible to send a card anonymously for the first time!
I hope your post-box is filled with delight this Valentine’s Day – and, if not, well CCN loves you!
Take care and stay safe!
LR
