Valentine’s Day: Celebrate love on Americans’ favored holiday

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14: In a tradition that dates back to a legendary Christian saint, chocolates, hearts and expressions of love are flowing around the world today.

Did you know? According to Fox News, more than four in five Americans get genuinely excited about Valentine’s Day—even more so than Christmas, according to new research. A poll of 2,000 Americans shows that 81 percent get excited about Feb. 14, while just 68 percent say they get excited about the Christmas holiday season.

Though history doesn’t document any romantic association with Valentine’s Day until the High Middle Ages and the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer, by the end of the 18th century, Valentine cards were being produced and exchanged. Through the decades, Valentines evolved from lace-and-ribbon trinkets to paper stationery to a holiday involving more expensive gifts, chocolates and jewelry. Today, the U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million Valentines are sent in the United States annually (not including the inexpensive Valentine cards exchanged among schoolchildren).

ST. VALENTINE(S): BY THE DOZEN

Down through the centuries, Christians have honored nearly a dozen St. Valentines, so any research into the history of the “real” St. Valentine quickly veers toward confusion.

According to one account, the Encyclopedia Britannica: St. Valentine is the “name of two legendary martyrs whose lives seem to be historically based. One was a Roman priest and physician who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus and was buried on the Via Flaminia. Pope St. Julius I reportedly built a basilica over his grave. The other, bishop of Terni, Italy, was martyred, apparently also in Rome, and his relics were later taken to Terni. It is possible these are different versions of the same original account and refer to only one person.”

American Catholic magazine, one of today’s most popular sources of information for Catholic families, stated: “Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine’s Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate. Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.”

So, if your friends start talking about the history of the “real” St. Valentine, you’re on solid ground to say: “Yes, but no one knows for sure.”

CHOCOLATES, GREETINGS AND CUSTOMS

Albeit a relatively new addition to Asian culture, Valentine’s Day claims its biggest spenders in this region: Customarily, women in South Korea and Japan give chocolates to all male co-workers, friends and lovers on February 14, with men returning the favor two- or threefold on “White Day,” which occurs on March 14. Residents of Singapore spend, on average, between $100 and $500 on Valentine’s Day gifts, according to a recent report.

French and Welsh households commemorate Christian saints of love, and in Finland and Latin American countries, “love” extends to friends and friendships. Western countries most often acknowledge Valentine’s Day with greeting cards, candies and romantic dinner dates. However, in Islamic countries, many officials have deemed Valentine’s Day as unsuitable for Islamic culture, and in Saudi Arabia, religious police have banned the sale of Valentine’s Day items.

VALENTINE’S LINKS AND RESOURCES

  • Prepare a 3-course meal for your sweetheart with menus and recipes from Food Network and Allrecipes.
  • Handmade, DIY gift inspirations are plentiful at Martha Stewart.com.
  • Anyone looking for a best-friend gift can find inspiration from Reader’s Digest, which lists 50 “awesome” ideas for pals.
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