As January draws to an end and February awaits us, most people would be thinking about the upcoming Valentine’s day. Romantic discussions, expectations, hopes and the intense desire to celebrate this month of romance takes over precedence in the mind. The air suddenly becomes magical and the hormones go overdrive to make everything special and romantic.
Have You Ever Wondered About What Is Valentine’s Day? And Why Is It Celebrated ?
Valentine’s day is a very popular romantic day which is celebrated across the globe. This day celebrates the romantic love between couples and hence makes it important for them to spend the day together to make it romantic and blissful.The days of valentine week are associated with red hearts, romance, flowers, cards, candy or other sweet romantic things. Couples exchange cards, chocolates and go on romantic dates to celebrate this special day.
The History of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s day is quite a popular day to celebrate love across the globe. It is named after a popular Catholic priest who lived in Rome in the early 3rd century. There are many interesting stories about St. Valentine and over a period of time, these stories have grown to make him a well-known legend.
What Happened During The Lifetime of St. Valentine?
During the lifetime of St. Valentine, many Romans were getting married early. The emperor Claudius II then created strict laws and also believed that Roman soldiers should not marry in order to be completely devoted to protecting Rome. He then passed a law preventing the Roman soldiers from marrying. St. Valentine went against this law and began to conduct secret marriages for these soldiers. This led to people believing that he was a true supporter of love and upheld the importance of love in the lives of people.
The Last Days of St. Valentine
Ultimately Claudius had discovered that St. Valentine was conducting the weddings of the Roman soldiers which he had prohibited. He immediately sent St. Valentine to jail. In the prison, St. Valentine had cared for the other prisoners and also for the jailor’s blind daughter. According to the legend he also helped to cure the girl’s blindness and developed a special bond with her.
St. Valentine was finally executed on 14th February and before his execution, he had sent a letter to the jailer’s daughter and even signed it ‘from your Valentine’. This happened in the year 270 AD and it further influenced the Valentine’s Day celebrations.
When and How did the Valentine’s Day Celebration Gain Acceptance and Wide Popularity ?
Some of these interesting valentine’s day facts will give you an insight into this popular global celebration, and provide useful information regarding queries like where did valentine’s day come from? etc. It took about 200 years after the execution of St. Valentine to proclaim 14th February as St. Valentine’s day. Earlier a pagan fertility ritual was held in February each year and the Pope abolished this festival to proclaim 14th February as Saint Valentine’s day.
Who was the First Person to Link St. Valentine with Romantic Love ?
During the middle ages, the famous poet Chaucer was the first person to link St. Valentine with romantic love. This led to the beginning of the tradition of courtly love which is a ritual of expressing love and admiration between couples. Earlier it was usually in secret and was rarely seen in public life. This custom quickly spread throughout Europe and there are even stories about a high court of love, which had female judges settling issues, related to love on this date.
How is Valentine’s Day Celebrated ?
Since the early middle ages, the romantic meaning of Valentine’s day has always existed. During the early 18th century it gained popularity as a gift-giving event for aristocrats in England and America.
When and Who Created The World’s First Mass-produced Valentine’s Day Card ?
In the 1840s Esther Howland created the world’s first mass-produced Valentine’s day cards and since then Valentine’s day gift ideas slowly evolved each year. This trend slowly grew into a large industry around making and selling products like flower bouquets, cards, chocolates, candies and other heart-themed memorabilia, etc.
People were also sending love messages and that eventually developed into people sending special cards that expressed their deep love and affection. Most of the earlier cards were beautiful handmade creations that were individually designed to show love and concern.
These cards would usually contain some sentimental message proclaiming the beauty of the receiver and also how much they are loved. Cards decorated with pictures of cupid, hearts, flowers and trimmed with lace and ribbon were exchanged extensively during Saint Valentine’s day. Even today these images are used to symbolize love across the world.
Modern Valentine’s Day Celebrations
The euphoria about Valentine’s Day can be felt several days before the actual date. Market places start gearing up for this special day since it also has great business potential. Shops that sell cards, flowers and other romantic gifts deck up their stores with Valentine’s Day gifts for him and her to attract customers.
The Jewelers too offer attractive schemes with eye-catching jewellery and special offers to customers. While Valentine’s Day is celebrated in most countries, different cultures have developed their own traditions for this festival. In some parts of the world, Valentine’s Day is observed as a day for expressing love between family members and friends, rather than that of romantic couples.
Some Popular Valentine’s Day Gifts And Ideas:
The Valentine’s day festival has turned out to be one of the biggest card selling holidays after Christmas in the US as youngsters prefer to buy cards for their lover and also the loved ones including teachers, friends, siblings and parents.Some people get into the frantic shopping mode to please their loved ones. People buy loads of chocolates that come in special Valentine’s day packaging along with big flower bouquets.
The other popular Valentine’s day gifts include perfumes, jewellery, wallets, shirts, dresses, stuffed toys and romantic showpieces. People keep hunting for Valentine’s day ideas in order to create a perfect and memorable day with their loved ones. People also opt for modern technology like online shopping to find that perfect gift from popular sites like Ubuy, that also provide special Valentine’s Day offers. etc.
How To Celebrate Valentine’s Day ?
In the present times, you can see that Valentine’s day is not just restricted to romantic couples alone. Hence people are trying to celebrate love in any form on this day. Some take the opportunity to wish friends, teachers, parents, siblings or anyone they consider special. These days one of the most popular ways to celebrate Valentine’s day is to go for a romantic date with your sweetheart. This is a great time to give Valentine’s Day offers and make this valentine’s day in 2020 one of the most special, romantic and memorable days.
Gifts for Couples
If you are married and wondering about valentine’s day gift ideas for couples, then try a romantic getaway which is turning out to be an extremely popular way to celebrate. You can also take part in special themed parties organized by hotels and enjoy your time together.
How Some Couples Choose to Celebrate this Day
Some couples choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a romantic candlelight dinner at home or in the restaurant. While others prefer to indulge in a luxury hotel stay in some beautiful location to enjoy some private and personal time together. Some people also choose this day to make their marriage proposals since they consider this as a perfect day to express their love and life long commitment.
Conclusion:
The valentine’s day symbolises love and is considered as a celebration of love, commitment and understanding between a man and a woman. Most young people are searching for the right person to spend the rest of their life in joy, peace and harmony. There are no fixed rules or defined processes to celebrate this day. Just enjoy the day and make it special for you and your loved one. Love need not be expressed just on one day. It needs to be expressed each day with words and deeds.
It takes consistent efforts, mutual understanding and a genuine concern with the need for belonging to make any relationship work. So enjoy this day and every other day in life, since time is limited and life is precious. So be prepared to celebrate this Valentine’s day with your beloved. Gear up in advance and plan every minute detail and do your shopping online on Ubuy to make it extra special. Source– blog.ubuy.com
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