Valentine’s Day, also called St. Valentine’s Day, holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. The holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day. It came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century.
Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus. According to legend, the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and, by some accounts, healed from blindness. Other accounts hold that it was St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible the two saints were actually one person. Another common legend states that St. Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war. It is for this reason that his feast day is associated with love.
Formal messages, or valentines, appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s commercially printed cards were being used. The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s. Valentines commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally the seat of emotion. Because it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February, birds also became a symbol of the day. Traditional gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.
The day is popular in the United States as well as in Britain, Canada, and Australia, and it is also celebrated in other countries, including Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines, it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date. The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends. Many schoolchildren exchange valentines with one another on this day.
Source: Britannica.com
Top 5 Most Popular Valentine’s Gifts
Jewelry. Rounding out the list of the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts is jewelry. this might explain why it’s the fourth most popular day to get engaged after Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. But a recent U.K. survey found a majority of women would rather be proposed to on Valentine’s Day than any other holiday or anniversary. Just a hint.
Flowers. Red and pink roses tend to be the top pick for flowers this time of year, but tulips might also be rising in popularity.
Going Out. Many couples also celebrate by seeing a show or going out to a restaurant. And yes, that even includes Valentine’s Day dinner at White Castle.
Greeting Cards. According to the Greeting Card Association, 145 million cards are exchanged each Valentine’s Day, and that’s not counting all the valentines kids get at school.
Candy (specifically chocolate). The National Confectioners Association says as many as 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold each year. When it comes to chocolate, caramel-filled treats are the most coveted, followed by chocolate-covered nuts. Also popular are chocolate- and cream-filled chocolates. Conversation hearts are also a longstanding Valentine’s Day tradition. Necco produces 8 billion hearts each year, and the association says that’s enough to stretch from Rome to the town of Valentine, Arizona, and back almost two dozen times.
Valentines day jokes
Q: What do you call the world’s smallest Valentine’s Day card?
A: A valen-teeny.
Q: What did the stamp say to the envelope on Valentine’s Day?
A: I’m stuck on you!
Q: What did one volcano say to the other? A: I lava you!
Q: What did the cucumber say to the pickle? A: You mean a great dill to me.
Q: How did the phone propose to his GF? A: He gave her a ring.
Q: What did the one sheep say to the other? A: I love ewe!
Q: And how did the other sheep respond? A: You’re not so baaaaaa-d yourself
Q: What did the farmer give his wife for Valentine’s Day? A: Hogs and kisses.
Q: And what did the tweenager give his mom? A: Ughs and kisses!
Q: What did one light bulb say to the other light bulb on Valentine’s Day? A: I wuv you watts and watts!
Q: What do you say to an octopus on Valentine’s Day? A: I want to hold your hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand!
Source: Redtri.com
Charm Your Valentine with these Pick Up Lines
1) You’re so sweet you would put Hershey’s out of business.
2) Be mine because you’re fine.
3) Can I have a kiss on the cheek? I want to be able to say a gorgeous girl kissed me on Valentine’s Day.
4) Cupid called. He says to tell you that he needs my heart back.
5) Did it hurt? When you got shot by cupid’s arrow.
6) Do you like cats? Because I’d like you to take meowt for Valentine’s Day.
7) Excuse me, you just dropped something — my jaw.
8) Going on a date with me is WAY better than eating a bag of those weird, chalky heart candies with sayings on them.
9) Hello. Cupid called. He says to tell you that he needs my heart back.
10) I bought you 12 roses for Valentine’s Day – 11 real and 1 fake. I will love you until all of them die and wilt away.
11) I’m sorry I didn’t get you a box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day, but if you want something sweet, I’m right here.
12) Once you go cupid, the rest are just stupid!
13) The only sweet I want for Valentine’s Day is a cutie pie like you!
14) They can’t fit what I feel for you on a conversation heart.
15) This Valentine’s Day, let’s make like fabric softener and Snuggle.
16) You’re so sweet, you could put Hershey’s out of business.
17) Will you be my valentine?
Source: Pickupline.net
I hope you and your Valentine have a great Valentine’s Day!
Until next time!
