Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated every February 14; this year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts The modern celebration of Valentine’s Day as we know it today began to take shape in the 18th and 19th centuries. With the advent of the printing press, the exchange of Valentine’s Day cards became increasingly popular. In the mid-19th century, Esther A. Howland’s mass-produced cards set the stage for the commercialization of the holiday. Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, [1] is celebrated annually on February 14. [2] It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine , and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in Valentine’s Day did not come to be celebrated as a day of romance until about the 14th century. ( Read Britannica’s essay “Why Do We Give Valentine Cards?” Why the history of Valentine's Day is so complicated Learn how St. Valentine, an ancient Roman festival, and the poet Geoffrey Chaucer all contribute to the history of Valentine's Day. When did Valentine’s Day cards become commercially produced? Valentine’s Day cards started to be mass-produced in the 19th century. Esther A. Howland, an American, is often credited with creating the first commercial Valentine’s Day cards in the 1840s. Why are roses associated with this day? Whether or not Chaucer can be fully credited, it is true that he and fellow writer Shakespeare popularised the amorous associations surrounding the day. Soon, people began penning and exchanging love letters to celebrate Valentine's Day. The mid-19th century marked the beginning of many of the commercialised Valentine's Day traditions we know By the Middle Ages, Valentine's Day had begun to take on romantic associations, thanks in part to the influence of poets and writers. One of the earliest references to Valentine’s Day as a Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day today? Valentine's Day's transformation into a holiday about romantic love can be attributed to the Romantic English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. The Times notes that Jack B. Oruch, a late University of Kansas English professor, credits Chaucer for modern ideas about Valentine's Day. Through his research, Oruch The History of Valentine's Day, and Why We Celebrate. Valentine’s Day may be associated with romance, but the history of the holiday isn’t exactly lovey-dovey. Here are the facts you may not know—plus, fun ideas for Valentine's Day 2025. Therefore, Oruch claimed, Chaucer invented Valentine's Day as we know it today. At the time of Chaucer's writing, February 14 also happened to be considered the first day of spring in Britain, because it was the beginning of the bird mating season—perfectly appropriate for a celebration of affection. “We’re still, in a sense,” he says, “medieval creatures.” Correction: The original version of this article misstated the name of the museum that houses 14th-century enamel with heart shapes. The origins of Valentine’s Day are pretty obscure. While scholars generally agree that the holiday was popularized in the 1840s in the U.K. and U.S., the specific historical roots of the Giving valentines. According to the lore, the second St. Valentine didn’t just fall in love with his jailer’s daughter. He also sent her a final farewell letter, signed “from your Valentine.” But how did we get Valentines and who in the world is the namesake for this popularized holiday? Valentines comes from the name of a real person, Saint Valentine who is credited as sending the first valentine in the third century. The mythos of this character was that in 269 C.E., a priest, Valentinus of Rome was to be executed. So let's take a look at the murky beginnings of Valentine's Day and how we got to the romantic holiday filled with flowers and candy we think of today. When is Valentine's Day 2025? Valentine's How did Valentine's Day get its name? You may assume that the name "Valentine" originated after St. Valentine, which is understandable. In fact, the Catholic Church recognizes several saints named The top three gifts purchased are candy (57%), greeting cards (40%) and flowers (37%). Surprisingly, a growing number of gifts are bought for pets. Consumers, in 2020, spent an astonishing $1.7 billion on Valentine's Day presents for their animal friends. How Did We Get Valentine's Day? The Catholic Church doesn’t recognize St. Valentine’s Day on its calendar anymore, but people throughout the world still celebrate the day. CHANGING TRADITIONS. Valentine’s Day traditions have evolved a lot over the years. For example, in the Middle Ages—which lasted from the 5th to 15th centuries in Europe—people started exchanging Not until the 1840s did we get the first mass-produced Valentines. In the 17 th century, people started exchanging cards and letters with their lovers and friends. Here's how it started Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the ancient Romans had bloodier, drunker and more naked notions to mark the occasion
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