February 14 is here whether you like it or not. You might be one
of the 10% of Americans under 25 years of age that feel unwanted on
Valentine’s Day, according to MORI.
You might be one of the two-fifths of single people that don’t particularly
care for the day. You might be someone stressing out over gifts and
cards for your significant other, or part of the over-one-third of
women that feel completely indifferent to the holiday. Whichever category
you fall into, the popular Hallmark
holiday likely effects you in some way.
Valentine’s Day often brings pressure, as any gift-giving holiday
does. Only the Chanukah/Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Passover/Easter
seasons bring in more flower sales than Valentine’s Day does, according
to AboutFlowers.com, and
two of those stretch over a course of more than one single day. Through
all of the worrying and mixed emotions, though, it is important to
remember the true meaning behind Valentine’s Day.
In the 1984 movie Footloose,
dancing was outlawed. In the late A.D. 260s in Rome, marriage was
outlawed. Emperor Claudius
II forbade marriage because it caused army-bound men to hesitate
in leaving their wives. The small town in Footloose relied on the
rebellious Kevin Bacon to go around the law and find ways to bring
dancing back while Rome looked to Valentine, a priest, to turn relationships
into a legal marriage. He would secretly marry couples against Claudius’s
wishes. He was finally caught in the act one day and sentenced to
hang on February 14, 270.
February 14 was a day of love well before St. Valentine was born.
In Ancient Rome, the annual pagan festival, Lupercalia,
was held on February 15. On the event’s eve, girls wrote down their
names and placed the paper in a jar. Boys would then draw from the
jar and whoever they picked would be their company for the festival.
Pope Gelasius
renamed the holiday in Valentine’s name in A.D. 496.
Giving Valentine greetings was also developed from the martyr of
love. He had gotten to know his jail-keeper’s daughter and on the
day of his death, he gave her a note signed, “From your Valentine.”
February 14 has been adapted into a holiday celebrating love, not
necessarily lovers. Valentines are given to all types of acquaintances.
Of the flowers purchased by women for the holiday, only 15% are intended
for husbands or boyfriends. This is the same percentage of flowers
that women buy for themselves on Valentine’s Day. Flowers are mostly
bought by women for their mothers, other relatives, or friends. Men’s
flowers, on the other hand, are intended for their wives or girlfriends
78% of the time. Before looking at Valentine’s Day negatively or as
a day of wasted money, it is important to understand the original
importance of February 14.
Cupid
is a symbol of Valentine’s Day due to Roman legend. Cupid’s mother,
Venus,
was jealous of the beautiful Psyche, a mortal. She asked her son to
punish Psyche, but he had already fallen in love with her. They soon
married, though she could not look at Cupid because she was a mortal.
Finally, her sisters convinced her to look at him, and she was punished,
left alone. She then spent time looking for her lost love, entering
Venus’s temple. Venus gave her chore after chore, steps in order to
find Cupid. For her final task, she was given a box for her to bring
into the underworld. She was told to find Pluto’s wife Proserpine,
steal her beauty, and put it in the box, which she was warned never
to open. Eventually, Psyche opened the box out of curiosity and was
discovered dead by Cupid. He put the death back into the box as he
and Venus both forgave Psyche. Psyche would then become a goddess.
There is more to February 14 than declaring romantic love for another.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday of unique foods, making crafts, sending
greetings, and appreciating those who are close. Valentine’s Day could
celebrate the love for a boyfriend or girlfriend, a spouse, a mother,
a father, a child, a sibling, a close friend, or anybody else. In
being someone’s Valentine, you make that person happy and you send
a feeling of company to someone who may usually feel exceptionally
alone on this day. Valentine’s Day was created to honor how much St.
Valentine meant to the people of Ancient Rome and to the people of
today. The day, in his name, is celebrated to recognize and appreciate
those who are close in any shape or form. And if you’re not into sending
out Valentines, February 14 is a great excuse for eating as much candy
as you want.
