Analysis: Hollywood and Hallmark have commercialised Valentine's Day, but its origins were far from flowers, jewellery, chocolates and cards
Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th and is quite a commercialised celebration today. But if we look back at the date through the centuries, it has quite a complicated history originating from Ancient Roman traditions to Christian history and present customs.
Some sources believe the earliest origin of Valentine's Day was the Roman festival of Lupercalia which was celebrated from February 13th to 15th. The significance of this festival was fertility and purification, and an event for matchmaking. This celebration was officially replaced in the 5th century AD by Pope Gelasius with the feast of St. Valentine.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's News At One, visitors come from far and near to the Dublin church housing remains of St Valentine
The most popular story surrounding the celebration of Valentine's Day is to commemorate the anniversary of St. Valentine’s death or burial. Around 270, two saints named Valentine were killed by Roman emperor Claudius II. Priest Valentine defied the orders of the emperor and secretly performed marriages for young men and women. According to the emperor, single men made much better soldiers than married ones so he outlawed marriage for young men.
When Valentine’s secret was revealed, he was sentenced to death. A rumour spread that there was another saint with the same name who defied the Emperor’s law and lived in Terni. He was also beheaded in Rome and this killing of the saint was associated with love and connection, thus, celebrated as Valentine’s Day.
Another myth suggests that Valentine was killed because he was helping Christian prisoners escape the brutality of Roman prisons. During Valentine’s prison time, he treated the jailor's blind daughter. Before his death, he wrote a letter expressing his love to her and signed off 'from your Valentine’. This expression has been used since that day to express love.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, reporter Aengus Cox examines Valentines Day: is it a day of love, or a cynical commercialisation?
The above stories mention the origin of the celebration due to the name Valentine refer to three different people: a saint, a bishop and a guard. However, there could have been just one saint, Valentine, who defied the Emperor's law, secretly helped young couples get married and was imprisoned. During his time in prison, he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter and before his death, he wrote the letter.
The month of February is considered in many European countries to be the season of birds mating. Among the Normans, Galatians Day was celebrated, which means ‘lover of a woman’. This day was later romanticised or marked by Chaucer and Shakespeare in their writings and it gained popularity in Britain and the rest of Europe. In Ireland, it is celebrated by gifting a Claddagh ring to your loved one.
The letter sent by Valentine from prison gave rise to the trend of sending love letters and tokens of love during the Middle Ages, as the idea of courtly love became popular. The rise of corporate advertising and the influence of Hollywood and Hallmark has commercialised the day, turning it into a big business for exchanging gifts like flowers, jewellery, chocolates and cards.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Beo ar Éigean, Siún, Sinéad and Áine ask if Valentine's Day brings joy or, in fact, the opposite into our lives
Mostly, February was always seen and celebrated as the month of spring and new beginnings, but the 14th of the month is now celebrated as a day to express love, friendship and affection towards your loved one. For example, in India, Valentine’s Day is celebrated by the younger generation to express love for each other. However, there has been cultural backlash from certain right-wing organisations for this day as they believe it undermines the traditional values and festivals associated with love.
In France, since this time is considered the mating season for birds, they celebrate Le Bal des Oiseaux (the ball of birds), where young women place their name in a bowl and young men draw a name to pair up for the festival. This festival is similar to the Lisdoonvarna matchmaking festival celebrated in Ireland in September. Finland celebrates the day as Friendship's Day (Ystävänpäivä) where they exchange cards and gifts with friends and not particularly with romantic partners.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
