Origins of Valentine’s Day
January 30th, 2006 Posted in Wedding Planning and IdeasValentine’s Day is named after St. Valentines, a famous saint. There are two known stories of how St. Valentines became famous. Emperor Claudius III forbid marriage as he thought it would make poor solders. A priest named Valentine thought this was unfair and secretly arranged marriages. He was caught and sentenced to jail. While in jail, he fell in love with the jailor’s blind daughter. According to the myth, Valentine’s strong belief in God cured the jailors daughter of her blindness. On February 14th, he was executed and on that same day a letter arrived for his love signed "from your Valentine."
Alternately, it is believed that in ancient Rome the festival of Lupercali is the root of the modern day tradition. During this festival, young men would draw names out of a box that would pair them with a young woman.
Regardless of how the love celebration was started, and today it is our most popular celebration of love. Neither of these tales of tragic or charming love started the phenomenon of trading cards. It was not until the 17th century that sending a written note to say, "I love You" was popular. Today it is popular to send red roses or tulips to your loved one on Valentines Day.