Paper hearts and Cupid. Glitter and lace and ribbon and Hallmark. I love Valentines' Day cards. I love sending them and I love getting them. "According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, following Christmas with an estimated 2.6 billion."1
Where did this start?
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Legend states that St. Valentine was a priest who got in trouble with the Roman emperor Claudius 11 around 270. If you recall, the story is that Claudius decided that bachelors made better soldiers so he made marriage illegal. This didn't stop soldiers from marrying. St. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage. He was imprisoned by Claudius. While there, he fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." This is legend only, but it is a fun legend. We do know that sending love letters and love notes to your sweetheart became the fashion by the Middle Ages. The oldest Valentine in existence today was one written by Frenchman, Charles duc d'Orleans, to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London. It seems he was on the wrong side of a battle and was captured and imprisoned. This letter was written in 1415 and is in the British Library now. |
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Shakespeare mentioned Valentine's Day in his plays. Shakespeare suggested "Sweets to the Sweet", in Hamlet. Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia "Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day."
The 17th century diarist, Samuel Pepys, recorded that lovers exchanged mementos like gloves, rings and sweetmeats on St. Valentine's Day.
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"Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines."2
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Today, Hallmark research reveals that 188 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually. This doesn't include the packaged valentines kids buy for their classroom parties. Over 50 percent of of all Valentine's Day cards are bought six days before Valentines day. 85 percent of those are purchased by women. Hallmark's research reveals that more than half of us buy Valentine's Day cards.
1. http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=892&display_order=8&mini_id=1084
2. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html
Happy Valentine's Day home
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Give Me Your Heart
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Sweets for the Sweet
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My Funny Valentine
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Looking for Love?
Take heart! The numbers are in your favor.
Looking for Love?
Take heart! The numbers are in your favor.
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Why wait for marriage? What does God have to say about this issue? Recommended books for single Christians and parents of teenagers.
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