Valentine’s Day: the why’s and where’s of celebrating the most romantic holiday

Feb. 14 has long been celebrated as a romantic holiday, but its origins are often shrouded in mystery. Who was St. Valentine? Why do lovers exchange cards, candy and flowers? How did it transition from a religious holiday into a secular one?

According to the history channel’s website, the Catholic church recognizes at least three saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of who were martyred. According to one legend, Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. When the emperor at the time, Claudius II, decided that single men made better soldiers, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret. When his actions were discovered, Claudius had Valentine executed.

Another story suggested that Valentine may have been killed after attempting to help Christians escape the brutality of Roman prisons. According to legend, Valentine sent the first “valentine” letter himself after he fell in love with a young girl who visited him in prison. He signed it, “from your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today. Despite the differing accounts of how Valentine came to be known for his romance, the stories all depict him as a romantic hero.

While some accounts suggest that Feb. 14 is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death, which probably occurred in A.D. 270, others claim that the church decided to place the feast day in the middle of February in an attempt to counteract the pagan celebration of Lupercalia, observed on Feb. 15. Lupercalia, a fertility festival, was dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

During the festival, members of an order of Roman priests called the Luperci would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus were believed to have been cared for by a mother wolf. The Luperci sacrificed a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then cut the goat’s hide into strips, dip them in blood and wander the streets, slapping women and crop fields with the bloody strips, which was supposed to make both more fertile in the coming year.

Later in the day, all the young women in Rome would place their names in an urn. The local bachelors would each choose a name and become paired with that woman for the year. These matches often ended in marriage.

Lupercalia was outlawed as anti-Christian at the end of the fifth century, when Pope Gelasius designated Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day. During the Middle Ages, citizens in France and England believed that Feb. 14 was the beginning of mating season, which further suggested that Valentine’s Day should be a romantic holiday.

The first written valentines didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Several years later, King Henry V supposedly hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine greeting to Catherine of Valois.

The first record of Americans’ exchanging valentines was in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines. Howland is known for making creations with lace, ribbons and colorful pictures which set the standard for valentines today.

According to the Greeting Card Association, approximately 1 billion valentines are sent each year, which makes Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, topped only by Christmas cards, at more than 2 billion. Women send out approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

Exchanging flowers on Valentine’s Day began in the 17th century. Roses were said to be the favorite flower of Venus, the goddess of love, which is why roses are the traditional flower for lovers.

The National Confectioner’s Association reported that chocolate has been associated with romance since at least the 15th and 16th centuries’ Aztec rule. Aztec Emperor Moctezuma believed that eating chocolate made him more virile and more “able to service his harem.” The idea caught on, and chocolate has been considered an aphrodisiac ever since.

Valentine’s Day is recognized in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia, although most other countries have some form of a holiday to celebrate love and human relationships.

According to the National Retail Federation, the average person spent $116.21 on Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations in 2011. Additionally, the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association said that of all Valentine’s Day gifts, 47.5 percent is candy, 34.3 percent are flowers, 52.1 percent are cards, 17.3 percent is jewelry, 34.6 percent is dining out, 14.4 percent is clothing and 12.6 percent are gift cards.

Several local merchants are offering special events and deals to celebrate the season of love with material expressions of affection.

S&N Eileen’s Greenhouse and Flower Shoppe Inc. will offer extended hours through Feb. 14 and free local delivery or half price rural delivery on Monday, Feb. 13 for all pre-orders placed by Saturday, Feb. 11. A special miniature cala lily bouquet is available for a reduced price and a mystery drawing will be held on Feb. 12 for customers who have entered before then. For the shoppe’s fans on Facebook®, customers can spend a certain amount and receive a free gift certificate. More details are available on S&N Eileen’s Facebook page.

Local salons and spas have a variety of options for those who want to pamper themselves in honor of the day or get ready for a romantic night out on the town.

DonChelle Salon Spa has five spa packages available through Feb. 14. The most popular, called the “Wine and Roses,” includes a luxury manicure and pedicure, a haircut and style and a half hour Swedish massage. Because spa services are not just for women, DonChelle also offers the “My Romeo” package, which includes an hour-long Swedish massage and a haircut.

Root 39 salon is running a special on spa manicures throughout the month of February and Nature’s Remedies is offering a lower price on health and wellness services, including massages.

Several local restaurants are also running deals and limited-offer menu items, including Papa Jake’s Saloon, which will be presenting lobster tails, surf and turf and prime rib on the night of Feb. 14, as well as implementing specials the previous weekend. Julie’s Pizzeria and Restaurant will also feature special offers.

For the creatively-inclined, Concord Curiosity Shoppe has a selection of crafting supplies ready to make valentines, gifts and goodies.

The Balloonery at Rhapsody’s Gifts has Valentine’s Day balloon bouquets available until Feb. 14 or until the shop runs out, whichever comes first.

With a wide range of choices for celebration and commemoration available, Western New Yorkers have plenty of reasons to feel the love in the air this February. From flowers and fancy meals to spa treatments and balloons, no one should have any trouble expressing his or her affections on Valentine’s Day, even if slapping the local ladies with a bloody goat hide is no longer socially acceptable.