Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated every February 14; this year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts Valentine’s Day, holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. It may have had beginnings in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which celebrated the coming of spring and included fertility rites and other activities, but the origin of the holiday is vague at best. Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, [1] is celebrated annually on February 14. [2] It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine , and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in The modern celebration of Valentine’s Day as we know it today began to take shape in the 18th and 19th centuries. With the advent of the printing press, the exchange of Valentine’s Day cards became increasingly popular. In the mid-19th century, Esther A. Howland’s mass-produced cards set the stage for the commercialization of the holiday. More than 250 million roses are produced for Valentine's Day, according to the Society of American Florists—with red roses making up nearly two-thirds of that number. The heart shape as a symbol of love first started showing up in art of the Middle Ages. If you don't make a big deal about Valentine's Day, you're not alone. The romantic association of Valentine’s Day began during the Middle Ages in Europe. It is believed that this connection emerged from a blend of Christian and pagan customs. One belief was that birds began their mating season on February 14th, which added to the day’s romantic connotations. When Valentine’s Day start gaining popularity? Due to this association with love, those 19th-century Victorians began depicting the cherubic version of Cupid on Valentine’s Day cards in a trend that we still see today! Embrace the season of love with these sweet ideas Written valentines began appearing in 1400, and Shakespeare referenced Valentine's Day three times in his plays in the early 1600s. In the 1800s, Esther Howland began mass-producing Valentine's Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD, and the rest is this history. New strain in Calif. Get the USA TODAY app Start the day smarter ☀️ 🐍Year of the Snake Soon, people began penning and exchanging love letters to celebrate Valentine's Day. The mid-19th century marked the beginning of many of the commercialised Valentine's Day traditions we know today. Victorian men wooed women with flowers, Richard Cadbury created the first heart-shaped box of chocolates , and the New England Confectionery In the 1900s, people began giving one another Valentine’s Day cards—and Hallmark began offering them in 1913. The tradition grew from there, and today Hallmark estimates 145 million Valentine While some believe the holiday began with the death of St. Valentine, others believe that the "Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in The Valentine’s Day tradition of giving a box of candy was started in the 19th century by Richard Cadbury, a scion of a British chocolate manufacturing family. Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and the United States, although it’s most common in the U.K. and the U.S. Americans likely began Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass-producing valentines. February has not been the same In 1847, Esther Howland began mass-producing Valentine’s cards in America, earning her the title “Mother of the American Valentine.” Her intricate designs featured real lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures. These fascinating facts about Valentine's Day will put the holiday in a whole new light. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that February 14 was the start of birds’ mating season. Chaucer In 1850, Esther Howland, the daughter of a prosperous stationer from Worcestor, Massachusetts, began one of the first mass-produced Valentine’s Day card businesses in the U.S. By the 19th century, Valentine’s Day had evolved significantly, with one of the most notable changes being the rise of Valentine’s Day cards. What began as handwritten notes exchanged between lovers in the medieval era gradually transformed into a commercial enterprise during the Victorian period. The Legend of Saint Valentine and How Modern Valentine’s Day Started. Saint Valentine, a Roman priest, became a beacon of love’s resilience against oppression during the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Defying the emperor’s edict that prohibited young men from marrying—believing that single men served as better soldiers—Valentine
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