9 Valentine's Day Facts That You Should Know

In today’s world, Valentine’s Day requires no introduction. Celebrated on 14 February every year, it is the purest day of love, romance, and affection. On this day, lovers across the world exchange flowers, chocolates, and lavish gifts with their beloveds, sweethearts, or better halves. The traditions that we follow today have been coming to one generation to another for hundreds of years. However, there would be very few of you who might know the history behind this celebration. To brush up your knowledge, here are some Valentine’s Day Facts that you should know:

1. More than one St. Valentine 

You would know that Valentine’s Day got its name to honour a saint named St. Valentine. There is a confusion surrounding St. Valentine. As per History.com, there are at least two men with the name of St. Valentine. The first was in 3rd century Rome. According to this, St Valentine was a priest who revolted against a law brought by the Emperor Claudius, who thought marriages distracted soldiers. As per the law, no soldier could get married

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As per another legend, St. Valentine helped Christians escape from jails in Rome. He caught helping Christians and put behind the bars. The saint fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and sent a love letter titled as From Your Valentine to her before being hung. 

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2. Origin relates to a Bloody Pegan Festival

Some state that the origin of Valentine’s Day is associated with a Christian effort, made to replace a pegan festival. The festival dates back to the 6th century BC, in which Roman priests sacrificed goats and dogs and soaked their heads with goat/dog blood. They slapped women with their blood-soaked heads to bless them for fertility. After being slapped by priests, women put their names in an urn and were selected to be with a man for a year. 

3. Letters Addressed to Juliet 

Each year, thousands of people send romantic letters to Verona, Italy to “Juliet.” The subject of such letters is addressed to the timeless romantic comedy, Romeo and Juliet. The city has marks of the Shakespearean tale. A team of volunteers from the Juliet Club answer the letters and awards the Cara Giulietta (Dear Juliet) prize to the writer whose romantic letter is the most heart touching.

4. Became a holiday associated with love in the 1300s

It was the end of the 5th century when Roman Pope Gelasius announced to celebrate the date of 14 February as St. Valentine’s Day. However, it was the Middle Ages when St. Valentine’s Day became a holiday related to love and romance, a tradition that first began from common belief in England and France. Birds began their mating time on 14 February. 

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5. Chocolate Boxes 

The tradition of producing a box of candy on Valentine’s Day started in the 19th century. Richard Cadbury, a member of a British chocolate manufacturing family, started this tradition. With a new technique, the company started to manufacture more varieties of chocolate, and Cadbury grabbed the opportunity to sell chocolates as a part of this holiday.

6. First Letter written from a prison 

The first valentine was written from a prison, the most unromantic place. Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote a love letter to his 2nd wife when he was 21 and was captured at the Agincourt Battle. He remained as a prisoner for more than 20 years and couldn’t see his valentine’s reaction to his poem that he wrote for her in the 15th century.

7. Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve

The term wearing your heart on your sleeve might have a connection with picking a valentine. As per Smithsonian report, men took the names of women with whom they could live together for the upcoming years during a Roman festival, organized to honour Juno. After the selection, the men put the names on their sleeves to expose their relationship with females during that festival. 

8. Cupid’s root in Greek mythology 

Cupid, a chubby baby with a bow & arrow and wings, has been related to Valentine’s Day for centuries. However, he was acknowledged as Eros, the god of love, among Greeks before being renamed as Cupid. Eros, Aphrodite’s son, used two sets of arrows - one for love and another for hate - to play with his targets’ emotions. It was not a story until Romans told his mischief that he adopted the childlike appearance that we know as Cupid.  

9. X Known as mean to Kiss

The idea behind the use of kiss to express soft feelings on valentines dates back to the Middle Ages in which the mark X was used as a symbol to Christianity. At the same time, the symbol was used to sign off on documents. After marking with an X, the writer kissed the mark to symbolize their oath. With the advancements of this gesture among kings and commoners to certify letters, books, and paperwork, the description of these records started to mention sealed with a kiss.

Conclusion 

Valentine’s Day has numerous interesting facts, and these vary as per sayings. The facts mentioned above are the one that you should be aware of. For buying Valentine’s Day gifts, you can visit the page - https://wallmantra.com/collections/valentines-day-gifts

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