When was the first Valentine's Day? How did it begin?

Answer 1

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards, candy, or donations to charities, often anonymously. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

In the United States, the marketing of Valentine's Day has tagged it as a "Hallmark holiday". A recent trend has been to refer to February 14 as Singles Awareness Day.

Official name: St Valentine's Day
Observed by: Western and Western-influenced cultures
Type: cultural, multinational
Significance: Lovers express their feelings to each other
Date: February 14
Observances: Sending greeting cards and gifts, dating.
Related to: The Night of Sevens, a Chinese holiday that also relates to love. White Day, a similar holiday celebrated in Japan and Korea one month after Valentine's Day.

Using the language of the law courts for the rituals of courtly love, a "High Court of Love" was established in Paris on Valentine's Day in 1400. The court dealt with love contracts, betrayals, and violence against women. Judges were selected by women on the basis of a poetry reading.

The earliest surviving valentine dates from 1415. It is a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife. At the time, the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt.

It is probable that the various legends about St. Valentine were invented during this period. Among these legends:

On the evening before Valentine was to be martyred for being a Christian, he passed a love note to his jailer's daughter that read, "From your Valentine."
During a ban on marriages of Roman soldiers by the Emperor Claudius II, St. Valentine secretly helped arrange marriages.
Valentine's Day is mentioned by the character Ophelia in Hamlet: "Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day."

In 1836, relics of St. Valentine of Rome were donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. In the 1960s, the church was renovated and relics restored to prominence.

In 1969, as part of a larger effort to pare down the number of saint days of purely legendary origin, the Church removed St. Valentine's Day as an official holiday from its calendar. February 14 is now dedicated only to Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Answer 2

Halloween grew to become right into a gaelic or celtic holiday whilst the lifeless rose to existence for a nighttime or something like that. Valentine's day had something to do with a St. Valentine advert an (unlawful?) wedding ceremony. =)

Answer 3

i think it was the 1400, there was a blind priest Valentine. he sacrificed himself for a couple that got married. The couple wasn't supposed to be married, but he married them. The king got mad and said if the doesn't testify that they are married (they would be executed if they were), Valentine would die. He hid their secret and was decapitated. It happened on Feb. 14th. he became a saint few years later. St. Valentine's day.
There comes an expression "be my Valentine"-so someone who would sacrifice themselves for the other, someone generous etc

Answer 4

i dont know when the present custom of valentines day began but i know that st, valentine was a christian roman martyr from the time of claudius the second, hope this is of some interest,

Answer 5

Joseph and Mary.

'-)