VALENTINE DAY'S HISTORY

True Stories of Valentine's Day

There are many myths & stories reagrding the history of Valentine's Day. This is one of them.

Valentine, a nobleman about to become a saint, was ordered to be executed by the Cruel king of Rome.

While in jail, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of the Jailor.

On the day of his execution (February 14th) he wrote a note to his beloved and signed it "Forever Valentine".

After he was matryed , he became St. Valentine.

But the Encyclopedia Brittanica negates all such stories saying "The custom has no connection with St Valentine" or any historical figure with that name, and that ' Special forms ' of greeting cards are exchanged in observance of St Valentine's day.

It is probabble that the Valentine was the first of all greeting cards."

The festival of love dates at least from the 14 th century, says Brittanica.

But for the now generation , stories about how valentine's day began are immaterial ; for us it is a great occasion to celebrate & spread love and to be indulged in cards with sugary messages,chocolates,flowers, gifts and everyhting heart shaped starting from pizzas to cushions. After all this is our way of celebrating and spreading the sweet fragrance of "LOVE."

Another story of Valentine's day history

St. Valentine's story begins in the third century. During the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius II, a Christian priest named Valentine secretly wedded people forbidden to marry by Roman law. At the time, Claudius was attempting to raise a large army - he thought that single men would make better fighters as they wouldn't be worrying about a family back home. Valentine was arrested and beheaded on February 14th, 269. He has since become the patron saint of lovers.

But there's another story about a different person named Valentine who lived at the same time, and was martyred on the same day. This Valentine was also a Roman priest who was arrested by Emperor Claudius II. Valentine confessed his faith before the emperor, declaring that the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury were "shameless and contemptible characters." While in prison, he befriended the blind daughter of his jailer. Valentine cured her and converted Austerius, his captor to Christianity. When Emperor Claudius heard of this, he had Valentine beaten and beheaded.

Until two hundred years after the accounts of Valentine's death by Emperor Claudius II, the Roman feast of Lupercalia was celebrated on the 15th of February. Lupercalia was a celebration for one of the many deities in the Roman pantheon, Faunus. To the Romans, Faunus was the god of flocks and fertility, the protector of crops, fields, and shepherds.

During the feast, single women would place their names in a large bowl with each single male drawing one name. The men would be that woman's partner for the festival. Sometimes the couple would fall in love, and there would be no reason to enter the drawing next year.

It is possible that the feast of Lupercalia was combined with the February 14 feast for Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and moved back to the day of the anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Valentine.

But what about the tradition of exchanging cards and gifts on Valentine's Day? Did that start with the Roman women writing their names down and giving them to the men? Or did the tradition originate with the story about the second Valentine, who was said to be a prolific writer who exchanged several dozen letters while imprisoned?

Most likely, it was Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.

One historian notes that there is no link between the Roman festivals and Valentine's Day, and says that before Chaucer's time, there wasn't any link between the day of St. Valentine and courting - but after him, the link becomes widespread. This, and the fact that there were few authors who were well-read by the commoners as well as royalty, suggests that Chaucer was responsible for inventing the modern traditions of Valentine's Day. It was an old belief that birds began to mate on this day, as he relates in The Parlement of Fowles:

309 For this was on seynt Valentynes day, 310 Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make

[For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every fowl comes there to choose his mate*]

After the time of Chaucer, the tradition of exchanging love letters, gifts, and cards became established.


COURTSEY-
http://www.lovevortal.com

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