Romance will be in the air this week with Valentine’s Day on Thursday. People will be searching for cards with hearts and guys will be carrying flowers and candy to their sweethearts.
But do you know the origin of Valentine’s Day? Actually there are several different legends, but I like this one. Long, long ago, around 268 A.D. in the Roman Empire, men were forbidden to marry before they entered the Roman army. But many soldiers wanted to marry anyway. A priest named Valentine performed so many of the prohibited weddings that the Caesar had him imprisoned. Then legend has it that Valentine wrote his faithful congregation a letter from prison expressing his love for them and signed it “Your Valentine.” That is what some say. Other stories say that Valentine healed the blind daughter of the judge who sentenced him, and the day before Valentine was executed, he wrote the girl a letter signed, “Your Valentine.” That story goes on to say the judge and his whole family became Christians.
Not everybody agrees with this version of the origin of Valentine’s Day. You can go out on the internet and read the other legends to make up your own mind, but I like the priest named Valentine preforming those forbidden wedding stories. The day wasn’t officially established until the end of the 5th century when Pope Celasius declared February 14 as Valentine’s Day. However it was the 19th century before it became the custom to send flowers, candy and cards to the one you loved.
Have you ever written a verse with “Roses are red?” That can go back to Edmund Spenser’s epic The Faerie Queene in 1590.
“She bath’d with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew.”
The modern cliché Valentine’s Day poem can be found in the collection of English nursery rhymes Gammer Gurton’s Garland (1784)
“The rose is red, the violet’s blue,
The honey’s sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou’d be you.”
In 1868, the British chocolate company Cadbury created Fancy Boxes — a decorated box of chocolates — in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s Day. Boxes of chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday. In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts, including a few diamonds that might have accompanied some Valentine’s Day proposals.
But if you want to stick with the basics, send a card. In the United States, about 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, not including the hundreds of millions of cards school children exchange. Back when I was an elementary school room mother for my kids, I always liked the Valentine’s Day parties best since all the kids got cards. It’s a day when everybody can feel loved and popular.
But one of the candy cards that many kids have always gotten on Valentine’s Day will be scarcer this year since Necco, the candy company that made the conversation hearts went out of business. The company that bought them out couldn’t get the equipment going in time for this Valentine’s Day, but they promise candy hearts with “Be Mine” on them will be back in good supply in 2020. The news article I read said that enterprising people did purchase up sacks of the hearts last year and that they are selling for high prices online. So it might be a good year to say “be mine” with chocolates instead.
Some people get depressed on Valentine’s Day if they don’t have a sweetheart or have lost a loved one. But love can come in many forms and the best of all things to remember is that Bible verse many kids learn first in Sunday school. “God is love.” Here is one of the verses that assures us of that love. “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16 NIV) So rest assured that we can all feel loved on Valentine’s Day and every day of the year if we dwell on that verse.
Do you like Valentine’s Day? Do you send cards? Give candy or gifts? Maybe enjoy some chocolates?
So Happy Valentine’s Day week and thanks for reading.
Comments 10
Another thing we have in common, Ann. I hate both licorice, and coconut and/or anything containing coconut!!! I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day! I’m just now seeing this post!
I love the history behind our traditions. But I never cared for the hearts candy much…if it’s not chocolate, it’s not worth the calories. 😉
My birthday is 4 days after Valentine’s Day, so I’ve enjoyed plenty of those heart shaped boxes of chocolate through the years.
My grandkids, and their mothers, are really into decorating Valentine boxes for their class parties…always lots of fun!
Have a great day Ann…hopefully we’ll see the sun later this week. 🙂
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Happy almost birthday, Lavon. You can just have a week long celebration with Valentine’s Day and then birthday.
I’m glad you grandkids have fun with their Valentine boxes. Hope they decorate a few cards for your birthday too.
And bring on the chocolates! Happy Valentine’s Day!
How sweet and thoughtful!!!
So that’s why I read that conversation hearts would be scarcer than hen’s teeth this year—what some people won’t do for another dollar!!! I never cared for them anyway, to eat that is, but I did like reading the different ones my friends would share with me—didn’t know Necco made them. That’s interesting, since Necco Wafers have always been one of my favorite sweets. They’re probably made from the same recipe, just in a different shape. 😊 Our daughter’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day. She never was too thrilled about that—when old enough to realize it she asked me not to make her cake in a heart shape. Personally, I like the heart shaped boxes of chocolates. 😊
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for the history lesson. 😊
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Sounds as though your daughter didn’t enjoy sharing her big day with everybody else on Valentine’s Day. Sometimes we like to have a day all to ourselves. But a heart shaped cake sounds pretty. Tell her happy birthday for me tomorrow.
I don’t think I’ve ever had but one heart shaped box of candy. My sweetie always thought the box was overpriced and he was right. But he can be extravagant when it comes to flowers.
I always liked the sugar heart candy, but then I have a terrible sweet tooth. About the only candy I don’t like is licorice and anything with coconut. The rest I’ll give a try. 🙂 Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.
Actually, because she lives in Japan she is celebrating her birthday today since they are 15 hours ahead of us and it’s around lunch time there, if you eat a late lunch. 😊 My hubby prefers giving flowers and because they are calorie free, I tend to agree. If I didn’t have to watch the sugar intake, I’d still enjoy a box of chocolates. I don’t know if you’re old enough, but back in the 50’s and 60’s those boxes were much more elaborate! ❤️❤️❤️
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Yes, they were, Karen. My sister’s boyfriend always bought her those. They were so pretty with ruffly covers and all sort of decorative add ons. I don’t know about the candy. I can’t remember her sharing. LOL. But I have to admit to being a little envious. My boyfriend didn’t have enough money for those fancy boxes. But he was still a great guy. Still is. 🙂
Hope your daughter had a lovely birthday. My son sometimes has to go to China for work related reasons and I always have a hard time figuring out the time differences.
Hubby and I send cards to the little ones in our family. Great nieces and nephew and of course, our 18 months old grandson. 🙂 The men’s group at church is providing a Valentine’s breakfast for the women on Valentine’s Day. Sweet! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Author
Valentine’s Day can be such fun, Melissa, when you look at the big picture of all those you want to wish the best. I need to get some Valentines in the mail to my grandkids. And I always think it must be fun when I hear about the guys at a church fixing a meal of some kind for the ladies of the church.