Valentine's Day - Come... lets fall in love...Valentine's Day is a festival that nurtures love and romance. The festival falls on February 14 every year and is celebrated in various countries across the world including America, Japan, France, Canada, London, China and India. Though the festival solemnize the martyrdom of a Christian saint called St Valentine, the festival as it is celebrated today has little religious significance. In present times, Valentine's Day has assumed a secular and global flavor and is celebrated by people of all ages and races.Another noticeable factor in Valentine's Day celebration is that it is not just restricted to romantic love, people therefore celebrate Valentine's Day greetings with their parents, teachers, friends, siblings, sweethearts or anyone special or close to them.
When is Valentine's Day celebrated?
Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day falls on February 14 every year. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by exchanging love letters, cards, flowers, chocolates and other valentine gifts. The whole month of February has a romantic aroma about it in India as well as all over the world.
Why is Valentine's Day celebrated?
Valentines Day is celebrated in remembrance of Saint Valentine who suffered martyrdom in AD 269 on February 14. Saint Valentine served Rome as a priest during the third century and this day certainly emphasizes on his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. He was a great supporter of love and thus adored by lovers throughout the world. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
Valentines Day is celebrated in remembrance of Saint Valentine who suffered martyrdom in AD 269 on February 14. Saint Valentine served Rome as a priest during the third century and this day certainly emphasizes on his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. He was a great supporter of love and thus adored by lovers throughout the world. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
Celebration of Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day in ancient Rome was considered to be an important event. The ancient Greeks held celebrations in honor of Juno, the Goddess of Woman and Marriage, and Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The celebration began on February 15th with the feast of Lupercalia. Love lotteries were held on the eve of the festival where girls names were written on paper, and the men drew their partners for the festival duration.
Valentines Day Facts
In Medieval times, girls ate bizarre foods on St Valentine's Day to make them dream of their future spouse.
In the Middle Ages, there was a belief that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex you met on the morning of St. Valentine's Day would become your spouse.
The first valentine card is supposed to be sent by the Duke of Orleans to his wife when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415.
The most expensive Valentine card ever sent was by an Indian Prince to a woman in London in 1891. It was set in carved in ivory surrounded by diamonds and cost 250,000 pounds.
In Wales, wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
Valentine Day Gifts in some countries: It is believed that if a young woman accepts a red rose from a man on Valentines Day, she loves him.
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