The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
WEB EXTRA
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2008
If you find yourself having trouble coming up with an original idea on how to spend Valentine's Day with your sweetheart, it's not surprising.
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The holiday, after all, has been celebrated for more than 1,500 years and in that time it's likely most of the best ideas have already been tried.
The origins of Valentine's Day are somewhat obscure and uncertain, according to historians, who do agree, however, that its roots can be found in the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia.
Sometime around 496, Pope Gelasius, offended by the licentious pagan celebration, converted it into a Christian feast day honoring St. Valentine.
Exactly which St. Valentine (there are at least three early Christian saints that share the name) Pope Gelasius intended to honor is unclear.
Most scholars lean toward identifying a martyred third-century priest who was put to death by Claudius II after the priest defied the emperor's edict prohibiting young men to marry because he believed bachelors made better soldiers. The priest continued to perform marriages secretly until he was caught and, by some accounts, beheaded.
What are believed to be the remains of St. Valentine can be seen in a black and gold casket at the Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland.
The holiday became popularly associated with romantic love in the 14th century after Chaucer wrote in his poem "The Parliament of Fowls," "For this was on St. Valentine's Day, when every fowl cometh there to choose his mate."
Prison, ironically enough, seems to have played a significant role in the traditions of the holiday
By one account, St. Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate when he fell in love with the jailer's blind daughter. Just before his execution, he sent the girl a farewell letter, signing it, "From Your Valentine."
The valediction sparked a trend.
One of the earliest Valentine's Day cards known to be sent was from Charles, Duke of Orleans, who in 1415 sent his wife a romantic missive while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.
The tradition of gift-giving and exchanging handmade cards took off in England in the 18th century, but card-giving didn't really catch on in America until the 1850s when Esther A. Howland of Massachusetts began mass producing cards.
Howland hit on a gold mine.
According to the Greeting Card Association, 25 percent of all cards sent each year are valentines -- close to 1 billion, exceeded only by the 2.6 billion cards sent at Christmastime.
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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