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History of Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is the celebration of love and affection of close relations and friends all over the world on February 14th each year. Every couple gets out with their partners and expresses their love to each other. Giving valentines gifts to their partners on this special occasion is a usual trend in all part of the world. Youngsters, teenagers and children are more interested in giving cards to each other expressing their affection.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many different ways around the world with lots of enthusiasm and spirit, but when it comes about its history, origins and traditions then this day has a very interesting story that will surprise you.

History of Valentine’s Day

Like every other tradition and culture, Valentine’s Day also has its own history and origin which dates back to many years ago. Today we are going to explore the roots about the celebration of Valentine’s Day & romantic traditions all over the world. There is a very popular romantic story behind the origin of this day.

The actual roots of the celebration date back to almost three centuries when a man named Valentine lived in Italy during the rule of emperor Claudius II. During that time, it was against the Roman Empire’s custom to allow young men and women to get engaged before they reached adulthood.

But there were many young men and women who fell in love with each other and wanted to get engaged even though they were not adults. So, Valentine helped them all in his own way by writing letters to their lovers explaining them how much they loved each other and how getting engaged would benefit the both of them.

Now, this Valentine had a real girlfriend during that time whose name was Sylvia who lived far away from Rome and had no idea about this young man helping other people in exchange of gold coins. Because of Valentine’s activities, the emperor became aware about his behavior and ordered for his execution on February 14th without giving him a chance to say goodbye to Sylvia.

Before he was beheaded, it is said that Valentine wrote a letter to Sylvia explaining everything that had happened and asked her to wait for his return so they can get married. But, he never returned and Sylvia went crazy searching for him. It is believed that the tradition of wearing a red rose in order to express your love started from that time when Sylvia used to wear red roses on her hat while going through the town frantically looking for Valentine.

How People Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

After knowing the roots of this amazing day, let’s take a look at how people around the world celebrate this special occasion.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated with full enthusiasm and spirit all over the world by exchanging cards, letters, gifts, flowers and chocolates on February 14th. Valentine’s Day is not only about boyfriends giving presents to their girlfriends but on that day children exchange Valentine Cards expressing their feelings to each other. It is also seen in some countries that women exchange gifts with each other on Valentine’s Day while some couples arrange romantic dinner for each other.

There’re a lot of ways people celebrate this romantic holiday. Here are a few of those:

1. Candle Light Dinner

This is the most common and popular way of celebrating Valentine’s Day all over the world. Couples arrange a candle light dinner for each other on this special occasion and spend some time together dining, talking and enjoying their meal. A romantic song or dance is also performed by them as a symbol of love to each other.

2. Letter Writing

People who live far away from their partners usually send letters through courier services to their loved ones expressing their feelings and loving memories they spent with them during February 14th holidays. And people who stay close to each other give cards to each other with loving messages inside it designating their feelings for one another.

3. Flowers

On February 14th most of the couples exchange flowers with each other to show their love for each other. Red roses are considered the most romantic flowers that are usually exchanged between couples during this special occasion.

4. Chocolates

Most couples exchange chocolates on February 14th as gifts symbolizing their love and commitment towards each other. The more chocolates you receive from your partner, the deeper your relationship is supposed to be according to some people!

5. Presents

Most of the young boys give presents to their girlfriends on February 14th to express their feelings for them in a unique way. Some girls also do the same but only few girls are seen exchanging presents among themselves nowadays unlike before where it was common among all women all around the world especially in Europe.

6. Cards

Cards are one of the most integral parts of this special occasion. People decorate their cards with beautiful illustrations mainly cartoon drawings and loving messages to give them to their partners on Valentine’s Day. These cards serve as a proof of how much they love each other and how much they value their relationship.

How Valentine’s Day Has Changed Over the Years?

Valentine’s Day is one of those festivals that has spread all around the world very rapidly over time. The main reason behind this quick transformation is the ever increasing love and romantic nature of human beings. It was first celebrated by a few people in Europe about 200 years ago, but now it has become a global festival where almost everyone participates with full enthusiasm and spirit. We can see Valentine’s Day celebrations going on everywhere from small towns to big cities as well as from schools to colleges, churches and workplaces.

Conclusion

Valentine’s Day is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fanfare all over the world. It is a day when couples make arrangements for candle light dinners, spend time together exchanging gifts and flowers as well as writing love letters to each other.

In some countries women give chocolates to their close friends while Valentine’s Day cards are also exchanged among many people especially children symbolizing their feelings for each other.

Valentine’s Day has now become a global festival that shows how love has no boundaries, race or religion even though it was first celebrated by a few people in Europe almost 200 years ago!