Valentine’s Day as a lover’s holiday has obscure beginnings. The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries, when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the “lovebirds” of early spring.
Before the 18th century, it was about exchanging gifts — gloves and spoons were traditional — and being someone’s valentine for a whole year. It sometimes served as a precursor to betrothal. The popular version of the holiday really took off in the 1840s in the United States and the United Kingdom. Commercialized cards came upon the scene and Richard Cadbury began making keepsake boxes of chocolates. Valentine’s Day is really only celebrated in such fashion in America and Britain, though some other countries are catching on to the romantic notion of such a holiday.
Hallmark was founded in 1911 and technology made it possible to create valentines in color and with various textures even more inexpensively than before. This was when the holiday really became about selling things, from candy to flowers to magazine and newspaper advertisements. Valentine’s Day began to become centered more on children, too, with a focus on getting a large quantity of cards rather than one sincere one. Hallmark played a big role in marketing to elementary students.
From a year-round pledge to a “Who can amass the most gifts?” contest, Valentine’s Day has evolved over the centuries into what we now know as the holiday of love. Today, even single people can celebrate on Single’s Awareness Day. Buy yourself some flowers or chocolates instead of waiting for someone else to treat you right. Today, there are almost as many different ways to celebrate as there are days in the month. So celebrate however you wish, but have fun doing it!
