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Cupid's
arrows will soon be
flying, because February
14th, Valentines Day,
is the time when romance
is all around. By long
established custom,
it's the day when friends,
spouses, lovers, and
intended lovers around
the world typically
proclaim their affection
with cards, gifts, and
— of course — flowers!
But have you ever wondered
about St Valentines
history? Who was this
mysterious figure whose
name has come to be
so closely associated
with affairs of the
heart?
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The legends surrounding
St Valentines history vary, but the
most popular and probably most credible
story identifies St Valentine as a third
century Roman priest. At the time, Emperor
Claudius II was having trouble recruiting
young men for his army. The emperor
outlawed marriage, believing that young
men would be more willing to join the
army if they did not have wives and
families waiting for them at home. Valentine
(or Valentinus, as he would have been
known in Rome) defied the emperor and
continued to marry young lovers in secret.
When his actions were discovered, he
was jailed and sentenced to death.
Other stories suggest
that Valentine was executed for attempting
to help Christians escape from the harsh
tortures of the Roman prisons.
As history tells it,
Valentine became friendly with the young
daughter of his jailer, and on the eve
of his execution, he left her a tender
note which he had signed "from your
Valentine". Thus, he became a heroic,
sympathetic, and romantic figure, who
may well have "sent" the very first
valentine greeting himself. His martyrdom
poised him for sainthood.
Some believe that the
date in mid-February commemorates St
Valentine's death or burial, around
270 A.D. However, in ancient Rome the
pagan festival of Lupercalia always
began on the Ides of February, the 15th.
Lupercalia was a celebration of fertility
and the beginning of spring, and part
of the festivities involved placing
the names of eligible young women into
a box or an urn, from which the young
bachelors would draw. These pairings
would last at least for the duration
of the festival, or perhaps for an entire
year, and the couples frequently married.
Early Christians, in an effort to remain
inconspicuous, regularly co-opted existing
pagan celebrations and made them their
own, and in approximately 498 A.D.,
Pope Gelasius proclaimed February 14th
as St Valentines Day, establishing the
date for all history. Later, during
the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed
in Europe that February 14th was the
beginning of the birds' mating season,
further linking the date with romance.
St Valentines Day was being popularly
celebrated in Great Britain by the 17th
century, and Americans probably began
exchanging handmade valentine greetings
in the 1700s. The first mass-produced
valentines in America appeared in 1840.
The rest .... as they say ....is history.
Naturally, those first valentines were
appropriately decorated with doves (who
are said to mate for life), hearts (
the universal symbol for love), and
images of Cupid ( the son of Venus,
the Roman goddess of love).
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These
days, what could be
a more perfect expression
of what's in your heart
than beautiful fresh
flowers, artfully arranged
and deftly delivered
by your professional
florist? Whether your
valentine is close to
home or far away, your
local florist can help
you make some valentine
history of your own.
Be sure to order early
for best selection and
delivery options. Then,
step back and let Cupid's
arrow find it's target!
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