Valentine's  Day

, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated on February 14 annually in most countries worldwide, though it isn't even a holiday in most of them. And no, it wasn't invented by the cut-flower and candy industry, though they took the event as opportunity for easy-made money....

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History

Valentine's  Day

was first associated with romantic love in the High Middle Age due to the tradition of courtly love. Lovers expressed their love by presenting flowers, confectionery and sending greeting cards (known as Valentines)  to their loved ones. However, the day itself began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus and Pope Gelasius I established the anniversary for the roman-catholic church in 469; but it was annulled from the General Roman Calendar in 1969.

The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni, who both are part of the legends surrounding this day. According to legend, Valentine was a priest who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians and for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry.  During his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer Asterius; an additional embellishment to the story was added centuries later: on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the first Valentine himself, addressed to the daughter of his jailer, who was no longer blind, signing as Your Valentine.

Another embellishment is that Saint Valentine would have cut hearts from parchment, giving them to soldiers and
persecuted Christians in order "to remind these men of their vows and God’s love" - a possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on St. Valentine's Day.

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Today

Saint  Valentine's  Day

is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrates Saint Valentine's Day, but on July 6 (in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine) and July 30 (in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Terni. In Brazil, Dia de São Valentin is recognized on June 12.

Today's Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.



Valentine's Day customs vary from country to country; due to a concentrated marketing effort by both, the cut-flower and the candy industry, the day is meanwhile celebrated in some East Asian countries, too. And even some Islamic countries celebrate this day, though usually behind closed doors. Muslims are not allowed to celebrate the holiday because the day is considered a Christian holiday, which resulted in a big black market for red roses and other Valentines.

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