Valentine’s Day in Latin is called ‘dies valentine’. What exactly is Valentine’s Day? It is the annual festival of love where all the lovers express their love, affection, and admiration to the most loved ones or their better halves. Each year on the 14th day of February couples shares and express their love by sharing cards, flowers, kisses of course, and spending special time together.
Do you want to know how this all happened and this special date came into life?
This is like a fairy tale start way back and let me take you to the 3rd century when Emperor Claudius II was the ruler of Rome. Rome was essentially in war at most of the time it was not any different during the era of Emperor Claudius II. The Emperor had the thought of young men who did not have any family or wife without any connections made better soldiers than ones with wives and children. So to maintain a better army, he outlawed all citizens from marriage.
Valentines Day
Now here is where Saint Valentine’s appearance becomes a crucial fact. St. Valentine on realizing this injustice and this outrageous law defied the Emperor and performed marriages in secret for young lovers. The Emperor in discovering this act ordered the arrest and death of St. Valentine. To commemorate the sacrifice he did to unite lovers this day is celebrated all around the world from the 3rd century until the present. This is one story that relates to the history of Valentine’s Day. But there is another.
This tale suggests that St. Valentine’s helped Christians escape the harsh Roman prisons. Christian prisoners were tortured and beaten here, and St. Valentine, a prisoner himself, helped them. And according to one tale, St. Valentine had fallen in love with the jailor’s daughter and she visited him very often during his confinement. And before his death, he wrote his final words in a love letter to her undersigned ‘from your Valentine’. This term is even used by many lovers even at the present to emphasize the truth behind St. Valentine’s romantic figure.
Valentine’s Day and the Cupid
Cupid is known to all like the naked cherub pointing arrows at unsuspected lovers making them fall in love. Cupid originally is a Greek myth and known by the Greek’s as the God of love. So to blend in love, the cupid’s role plays a vital character in Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day and the Cupid
Modern Valentine’s Day celebrations
The 21st century has brought a few changes to the celebrations apart from being an event only for young lovers. Different countries with different cultures have made their plans on how the celebrations are done. In some parts of the world, families express their love to each other, where appreciation between friends takes place in some places. While in some other parts of the world it is celebrated as a tradition by leaving gifts to children.
How does Valentine’s Day make money
For most people, it is a day to express their love and think of it as the most romantic day but to some others, they just see the opportunity on this unique day which brings in a lot of cash. Florists, restaurateurs, and retailers get a lump sum of cash by contributing to this day’s business. Data collected suggests that the business is at its spike five days before 14th February. Shoppers from all around the world rush to buy gifts, mostly flowers.
Flowers: No exception it is roses. From the whites to red and from all over the world roses are shared among lovers throughout the day. Roses have a heavenly aroma and are associated with romance, passion, and beauty other than any other flower in the world. There are around 150 varieties of roses spread around the globe. But topping the list is the red rose that is mostly shared resembling love that fits Valentine’s Day perfectly. Apart from roses Carnations, Valentine’s lilies, Alsteromeria, and Valentine’s tulips are a few other flowers that are used by lovers.
How does Valentine’s Day make money
Restaurants: Some say love comes from the stomach and it is a very old saying. Hunger drives love away so this opens a great opportunity for restaurants because some will buy gifts to express love. While some would bring their loved ones to dine in a romantic dinner with candles, flowers, chocolates, and of course music. So restaurants start giving various offers from gifts to raffles and finally to free champagne to make their restaurant a love nest for the night. People spend a lot of money from small dines to star class hotels just to express how much they love each other.
Does the entire world celebrate Valentine’s day?
It is a very simple answer. No. This special day is banned in a few counties similar to the Roman era where marriage was banned. In this 21st century Iran, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and surprisingly in a region of the Russian Federation the celebrations are banned. But that does not stop the cupid from making people fall in love.
Valentine’s day celebrations in schools
banned Valentine’s day
Normally Asian countries’ cultures restrict people from enjoying their love in public. But when it comes to the schools in the Arctic hemisphere even primary school kids celebrate valentines day. How do they do it? They create appreciations cards for all the friends in the class and spread them amongst themselves. They enjoy the spirit of friendship that bins them a one. So one can say that Valentine’s Day is not only about young couples, cupid, and flowers but is about the affection and attraction that one has against the other.
So as you now know how important the date is and why we celebrate it do not hesitate to express your love especially for all you care about from a friend to your loving life partner and kids. Life is short and no one can predict what the next minute will bring. So live life as it is your last and do not forget to express your ‘LOVE’.
