A Few Fun Valentine’s Day Facts

Hello Monday and hello friends. Hope you are all well and were able to enjoy a really great weekend. In honour of this special day when we celebrate all things love. I thought I would share with you a few fun Valentine’s Day Facts.

Who was St Valentine?

Well, apparently there is a whole bunch of historical confusion about who deserves the honour of having Valentine’s Day named after them.  This is because there were two equally deserving men named Valentine. And either one of them could have been the reason behind Valentine’s Day. One was a priest way back in third-century Rome. The other Valentine was an early Christian martyr.

Valentine’s Day Was An Ancient Pagan Festival

Like almost all holidays we celebrate today. Valentine’s Day also has Pagan roots. Some scholars believe that St Valentine’s Day was in fact originally a pagan fertility festival.

Pagans celebrated the day by sacrificing animals. Then interestingly in order to encourage fertility. Women were slapped with animal hides!

When Did Valentine’s Day Become Associated With Love

In the fifth century, Pope Gelasius ended the pagan fertility festival. And then the Catholic Church declared the 14th February to be a day when the martyred St Valentine was to be celebrated. Valentine’s Day finally became linked with love and romance in the Middle Ages.

Where did Cupid Come From?

The story goes that Eros was a handsome Greek god who had the ability to make a mortal fall in love with the power of his magical arrows. The Romans then reinvented Eros into Cupid during the 4th century. However, Cupid didn’t earn his title as the face of Valentine’s Day until the 19th century.

Where did Valentine’s Day Cards Come From?

Esther A. Rowlands from the United States began making pretty cards in the 1840’s. These soon skyrocketed into a major commercial success and made a whopping $100,00 a year. That was a whole lot of money back in those days! Before this, people were celebrating Valentine’s Day by handing out cute little handwritten notes to each other.

Valentine’s Day And Chocolates

Clever Richard Cadbury the son of the Cadbury chocolate manufacturer. He was the one who first brought chocolates and Valentine’s Day together. He came up with the brilliant idea of packaging Cadbury chocolates in heart-shaped boxes. Go, Richard!!

Flowers and Valentine’s Day

It was all the way back in the 17th Century when flowers became associated with Valentine’s Day. Venus the goddess of love must have had excellent taste because she chose roses as her favourite flower.

Over time people gradually began giving flowers to their loved ones. Then in the Victorian era men began giving flowers to the women they were seeking to win over, woo or date as we now say.

Valentine’s Day Isn’t Just For Couples

Valentine’s gifts and treats are for everyone and not just for your romantic partner anymore. Nowadays it is quite common for parents to give their children Valentine’s Day presents. Furry friends are also happily enjoying Valentine’s Day treats too! Although this is much more popular in America than in countries like Australia.

A Few Fun Quotes!

Although Valentine’s Day is not crazy popular here in Australia, I think it’s still a good time to reflect on the gift of love. We can stop and appreciate our families, human friends, or furry friends who we love and who love us back unconditionally through thick and thin. Even if they do make us crazy sometimes!! So now along with a few fun Valentine’s Day facts I will also leave you with some quotes on this Valentine’s Day and hope that you have a most wonderful day!!

 

 

 

Linking up with Holly and Sarah for today’s Hello Monday post

 

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