Chocolate hearts, roses, yummy candies, and heart-shaped cards—what is not to love about Valentine’s Day? This romantic holiday is on the 14th of February every year.
The History of Valentine’s Day
The holiday we all know was originally named by a man St. Valentine in honor of a Roman Priest; people also believe it was named after him because of his actions and stories he told. An emperor of Rome, Claudius ll, banned marriage because he believed unmarried men were better in war and stronger soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair, and that people deserve marriage and happiness. He broke this rule and gave private and secret ceremonies to anyone wanting to marry. He was later caught and killed on the 14th of February. Before he died, he wrote a letter to his jailer’s daughter with whom he was in love, and he then signed it as’ your Valentine’.
Ancient Matchmakers
In Ancient Rome, there were multiple ways to bring couples together, such as festivals. During these festivals, boys would pick girls’ names from a container. This would determine who you would be with at the festival, and some couples even got married. After the pope created St. Valentine’s Day, the festival became a Christian celebration. The Catholic Church doesn’t recognize this holiday on their calendar anymore, but today people still celebrate it.
Greek Mythology
There are tons of unique stories about Valentine’s Day, including Cupid. In mythology Cupid is a Greek God and the symbol of Valentine’s Day. He was born on Mercury and sends love to both the gods and people. He is armed with a bow and arrows with little hearts at the end of it. His God name is Eros which means love and desire. Cupid was the son of Chaos, tradition eventually changed that, saying now that he is the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
Cupid
Before Valentine’s Day, Eros was never seen as having anything to do with love. He caused chaos and issues, using his bow and arrows for the worst. He began playing the emotions of mortals and gods, and not always in the nicest ways. For example, one story states that he caused the god Apollo to fall in love with a nymph named Daphne, but this love was not two-sided as she was not interested in Apollo and even tried to run away. Cupid made it so Daphne could never fall in love, making it difficult for Apollo to love her. As they ran she called out to her father, begging for help. In a rush, he quickly turned her into a laurel tree, causing Apollo to be devastated. This is why one of Apollo’s symbols is a laurel tree.
Traditions Now
Nowadays people give out handmade cards, little candy hearts that say “LOVE YOU” or “XOXO”, and beautiful flowers. For this holiday tons of money is being spent with $25.8 billion just from last year in 2024. It seems like Diamonds and jewelry are extremely popular during this time of year, getting proposed to or just a gorgeous gift.
