| Since I was a child, Valentine’s Day always appeared to be a great spectacle to me. As a small child the excitement of picking out which themed box of valentine’s I would select was almost as big of an ordeal as Christmas shopping. Equally my parents would purchase my sister and me trinkets, chocolates, jewelry, stuffed animals, and cards as tokens to display their affection, so the excitement of waiting to see what we were to receive for Valentine’s Day was a pretty big ordeal. When I got a bit older the tangible items exchanged changed, but the emotions and the building anticipation did not. In middle school and high school it was a big deal to get carnations from boys. All the girls would wait with baited breath to see if they would receive a carnation or candy gram when the designated student council (or whatever other organization was participating) student opened the door with a bushel of carnations in tow. As I continued to grow older I began to wonder if this day that happened once a year and is equivalent, in fame, to Christmas is as big of a deal in other countries and if so is it celebrated in the same manner? After researching, I found tangled and confusing origins of the holiday westerners spend billions of dollars celebrating. After sorting through the origins, I found some answers to the aforementioned questions.  Origins of Valentine’s Day:
The least complicated explanation of the origins of Valentine’s Day is quite simply that we don’t know when or where the holiday was birthed. While there are several hypotheses about the holiday’s origin, I am only going to share three of the suppositions with you: | Supposition #1:
Roman Celebration of Juno Fructifier and Lupercus.
On February 14th the Romans celebrated Juno Fructifier (Queen of the Roman deities).
On February 15th the Romans celebrated Lupercus (God who protected shepherds and their flocks).
Several rituals focusing on fertility were practiced during this celebration, including special sacrifices, and a name drawing to pair single men with women). | | Supposition #2:
St. Valentine of Rome
Roman Emperor Claudius II placed a ban on marriage for single men because he thought it would make the Roman Army stronger. It’s rumored that a priest by the name of Valentine ignored the ruling of the emperor, and continued to marry couples. When his disobedience was discovered, Valentine was imprisoned and then put to death. His execution was enacted on February the 14th 269 CE. | | Supposition #3:
Valentine of Terni
This valentine was martyred for his service to the Christian Church under Emperor Aurelian. It is said that before he was martyred he was jailed. It is further rumored that while imprisoned, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Before he was killed he left a note for the jailer’s daughter signed “Your Valentine.” It’s also been proposed that this Valentine is in fact the same man as Valentine of Rome.  Regardless of its origins, today Valentine’s Day is a well loved, western celebration. The Greeting Card Association estimates that some billion valentines are sent per year: This makes the holiday the second largest card – sending holiday of the year (Christmas ranks first). It’s been offered that V-Day arrived in the US in the 19th century, carried by British Settlers. The first mass-produced valentine’s cards were made of embossed paper lace, and created by Esther Howland in 1847. In the second half of the 20th century, exchanging cards grew into exchanging presents. The traditional presents were roses and chocolate. In the 80’s, the diamond industry added jewelry to the standard list of presents. | | | Valentine’s Day in other Countries:
Brazil – They have “Day of the enamored,” or “Boyfriend’s/Girlfriend’s Day,” (Día dos Namorados). This day is observed on June 12th and couples exchange the same types of gifts you would expect to see on V-Day. This holiday coincidentally occurs the day before St. Anthony’s Day (St. Anthony is the marriage saint).
China: China doesn’t celebrate V-Day but instead celebrates an equivalent entitled, “The Night of Sevens.” This day occurs on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar (The Japanese equivalent to this day is Tanabata and is celebrated on July 7th of the solar calendar).
Columbia – “Love and Friendship Day,” ( Día del amor y la amistad) is observed on the third Friday and Saturday in September. The holiday is typically celebrated with secret friends, which is the equivalent to a “secret Santa.”
Finland – The holiday is referred to as Friend’s Day (Ystavanpaiva), and focuses more on friendship than romantic love.
India – While spreading slowly due to the strong tradition of separatism between men and women in India, V-Day is starting to become popular there. This is quite possibly due to the increasing western influence in the country. If it’s celebrated, it is done so in the same fashion in which it is celebrated in the U.S.
Israel – On or around August 15th, the festival of love (Hag Haahava) occurs. In older days, girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyards, where the boys would wait. Today, this day is reserved for pronouncing love, marriage proposals, and the traditional gifts of V-day (i.e.: Flowers, cards, candy, etc.).
Japan/Korea: Women give candy, chocolate, and/or flowers to people they like. On March 14th (White Day) the men reciprocate their Valentine’s Day presents by providing presents to their lovers. On V-Day three kinds of chocolate are given, out of obligation, out of love, and out of friendship: Respectively these chocolates are referred to as giri-choko, honmei-choko, and tomo-choko. In Korea there is also a Black Day which is observed on April 14th. This day is dedicated to the males who didn’t receive anything for V-Day, and is commemorated with the forsaken men eating Jajangmyun (Chinese- style noodles in black sauce).
Mexico – The day is referred to as Love and Friendship day, just as in Columbia, but is observed on February 14th. The tradition of secret gift givers is upheld in Mexico as well.
Norway – The day is called Valentinsdagen, and is celebrated on the 14th of February, but not to the same intensity as seen in the United States.
Romania – The traditional holiday is Dragobete and is observed on the 24th of February. This holiday is based on traditional Romanian folklore. Recently, however, the country has begun to observe Valentine’s Day as well.
Slovenia – Due to an old proverb that hold St. Valentine s the key holder of roots, February 14th is celebrated as the day when work commences in vineyards and fields. Instead, they observe March 12th as St. Gregory’s Day and celebrate love on that day. |
The Truth
