Is Valentine's Day just another American holiday exploited internationally by flower, chocolate and greeting card vendors? Or is Valentine's Day a legitimate holiday dating back hundreds of years?
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred. Myriad legends surround the saints' actions. One version holds that in third-century Rome, a priest named Valentine defied Emperor Claudius II's order banning soldiers from marrying (the emperor believe that single men made better soldiers!). Upon learning that Valentine had violated the decree, Claudius condemned the priest to death.
Another legend contends that Valentine had been thrown into jail, where he fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Just before his execution, he wrote her a love letter signed “From your Valentine.”
Most experts agree that Valentine was martyred on February 14, 269 AD, the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, which honored Juno, the Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses, but also known as the goddess of women and marriage. On this day, the names of young Roman women were placed into boxes. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar, with whom he would then be partners (in various senses of the word) for the duration of the festival. Because of the lascivious nature of Lupercalia, the Church tried to preempt the the annual festival by transforming it into a ritual for romance by designating February 14 to honor St. Valentine.
Over time, February 14 became a day for exchanging love messages, poem or simple gifts, and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers.
Manufactured cards, adorned with hearts and cupids, appeared sometime in the early nineteenth century. The Greeting Card Association, a trade group for the industry, reports that today almost a billion Valentine cards are sent each February in the United States alone.
So much for the history of Valentine's Day. What are YOUR options for celebrating this romantic fête?
Try driving to the Loire River valley in France to a small village called Saint-Valentin which has been organizing February 14 celebrations for lovers since the early 1900s.
Send a Valentine to your beloved; if you have no beloved, send it to someone you've got your eye on; better yet, send an anonymous Valentine card; and, don't forget to send one to your beloved mother.
If red roses and bonbons are not your style, at the very least, do seize this occasion to tell someone special that you love him or her.
In anticipation of Valentine's Day, check out the film “Chocolat” at the Belletrie film series Friday, February 13. It offers just the right mix of sweet and passionate romance.
While Valentine's Day is legitimately grounded in history, American pop-cultural imperialism has certainly contributed its fair share to contemporary society's style of celebrating February 14. For political, sociological, or personal reasons, some of you may choose to resist the invasion of so-called “greeting card holidays.” For the rest of you, embrace this holiday and make it your own.
