Valentines Day

Ok so at the risk of sounding totally ignorant, I am going to ask a question that I truly would like to know the answer to.
Where exactly did Valentines Day start? Is it really linked to St. Valentine..? Do many European countries countries celebrate? Is it mostly english speaking countries/ caucasian people?
Is it just another American holiday created to capitalize on?
Who gets the Valentine bug?

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6 replies since 11th February 2014 • Last reply 11th February 2014

Reply #1:

Well, according to Wikipedia: China, Finland, Estonia, France, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Latin America, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Scandinavia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, America, Britain, Australia, Ireland, and many more celebrate Valentines Day or some other variation with the same ideas.

I'm not sure where it came from, I've heard a lot of different stories, all including St Valentine, some saying it started to commemorate a number of saints' martyrdom, others saying St Valentine encouraging love, etc.

As with many holidays, the original reasons are forgotten or replaced due to targeted marketing to sell something - e.g. Most people I know celebrate Easter, regardless of their religious beliefs because Easter isn't known for how it began anymore, it's seen as a time to get chocolate eggs.

It would be cool to know where Valentines Day started, and if it is held on its original day, or if it's day was changed to coincide with other events (like what happened to Christmas).

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Reply #2:

That is so sad about Easter!!! Awe! Church on Easter was always the minimum time we went…..

I will do some St. Valentine research. I try to be traditional about Holidays; because I don't want to let anybody tell me how to be, and the shopping centers sure try to tell you what you want, as they limit your options to Owls or Mustache's… or BLUE conversation hearts; that is an insult to anybody that claims to have a brian!! The conversation hearts always included white which was a mint flavor (the best!!) and replaced it with BLUE RASPBERRY!! GEH!! Grosssss! Aparently everyone has gone along with this saying 'they were always blue' and I must remind that M&M has blue and even they added it years ago!!
Whew any ways,…. so I like to know the facts so that I can create my own traditions… for instance My dad always gave my sisters and I a box of heart chocolates on Valentines Day, that is his tradition.. so I want to come up with some with my family but make it about a fact from history… food always works; I love making "authentic" meals to whatever Holiday time period..

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Reply #3:

i heard that valentines day came from punjab in india.......im not sure about it

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Reply #4:

I heard that when the Christians were hiding in the catacombs, Valentine was the courier and bearer of "gifts" between and to various groups. I have also heard that a later Valentine gave dowries to poor girls so they could wed.

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Reply #5:

Valentine's day indeed started with St. Valentine. His love story can not be ignored and it is he who has inspired lovers to convey their feelings. Valentine's day is celebrated in order to pay a tribute to St. Valentine.

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Reply #6:

I like the dowry thing. That is so cool….
I assumed it started somewhere with St. Valentine, but I wanted to know how much is is played up by overly dramatic people and corporations…. I really like to stick to simple basic traditions. My father-in-law always put citrus in our stockings… It's traditional.
Thanks for the input. I still need to do more research, I've been all blah since Valentines day...

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