The History of Valentine's Day

By Scott Miscall

Most people think of Valentine's Day as a way to celebrate life and love, but I bet you didn't know that it started from a series of events that were quite the opposite in nature. In fact, the history of Valentine's Day is much more interesting than most people realize.

As you know, Valentine's Day is the 14th of February and is usually accompanied by cards, flowers, chocolates, and fancy dinners by candlelight. Although this is the way it is celebrated today, it was started in a much different fashion. Originally, this great holiday was created by the church in order to honor St. Valentine, which was the term used to describe a variety of saints that were martyred for their beliefs. Eventually, the holiday took root and became an ever year occurrence, morphing into the romantic occasion it is today.

The first person to write about Valentine's Day in a romantic fashion was the noted writer, Geoffrey Chaucer, which he wrote about in his story Parliament of Foules. As more people began to use Valentine's Day as a way to celebrate romance, it continued gain traction and grow in the legacy of the original holiday created by the Catholic Church.

Obviously, card companies make a killing when Valentine's Day comes around, particularly the American Greeting Card Associating, which is one of the largest card manufacturers in the world. Now, on any given shelf during this time of year there are hundreds of different Valentine's Day cards. Some are for lovers, some are for loved one, and some are for friends and family. The only holiday that sells more cards is Christmas.

Although marketers would love to get you to spend as much money on Valentine's gifts as you do on Christmas gifts, the reality is that most people can only spend that kind of money one time per year. Still, people buy jewelry, candies, and many other fancy gifts during this time of the year. Men and women use it as a way to buy gifts for each other in order to celebrate their relationship, but it is also a great time to tell someone how much you care about them.

Kids get cards from classmates, and teens get them from secret admirers and crushes. The cycle of love continues to this day and as long as people keep celebrating this holiday, it can only continue to do so. I love the fact that Valentine's Day allows people to slow down, hug each other, and say I Love You. Those three words are not said enough, and I wish there were more holidays to bring that type of behavior out of people.

Although Valentine's Day started to celebrate death, the fact that it now celebrates life and love seems to me a great lesson on how to move forward from any bad event. Now that we are ready to celebrate, make sure to get your loved ones a Valentine's Day card to show them how much you care.

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