1. The Real Saint Valentine Is Shrouded In Thriller

Even though he lived in the third century AD, virtually nothing is known about this saint or the life he led. It isn’t even clear how many holy men named Valentine there have been, or which one is honored on Valentine’s Day.

Regardless, bits and pieces about the saint have made it into the realm of legends. The consensus is that he was a priest who broke the law doing what he believed in. Some tales say he performed marriages between soldiers and their beloveds. In Rome during that time, this was in opposition to the law. Soldiers were not allowed to marry. When Valentine was caught, he was imprisoned and put to loss of life for defying Roman rules.

One other story also involves his imprisonment, however this time for working towards his faith and refusing to worship the emperor. While in prison, he turned friends with the jailer’s daughter. He prayed for her, and he or she was healed of her maladies. On the evening of his execution, Valentine gave his friend a note to comfort her. It read, quite simply, «From Your Valentine.»

2. Matchmaking Was An Ancient Roman Tradition That Preceded Valentine’s Day

Lupercalia was a festival that took place each year in historic Rome between the 13th and fifteenth of February. Its goal was to cleanse and protect the community. A few of the festival traditions were meant to do away with evil spirits and bless crops.

There was additionally a matchmaking element to the festivities. Women put their names in an urn. Males picked names from the urn. The couples formed by this lottery system were expected to stay collectively for a year. Surprisingly, many of these random matches resulted in marriages.

Centuries later, this historical celebration merged with the newer tradition of honoring Saint Valentine on February 14. The newer holiday was a lot more subdued, but among the festival’s romantic elements carried forward.

3. Valentine Cards Turned All The Rage In Victorian England

In the Middle Ages, noblemen wrote (or hired others to write for them) impassioned love notes to their expensive ones. But it wasn’t till the Victorian Era in the mid-1800s that sending valentine cards grew to become a popular custom.

First it was handmade cards embellished with lace and ribbon. These have been fancy cards with intricate designs that included cutouts and pop-ups. The tradition was popularized in England and made its way to the U.S. a number of decades later.

With advances in printing technology, cards started to be mass-produced. Immediately a hundred and eighty million valentine cards are exchanged each year within the U.S. alone. Designs proceed to evolve, but coronary heart and floral themes remain as popular as they had been in Victorian times.

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