Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

13.02.2024 - 14:37 / jparkers.co.uk

We’ve all heard the accusations: ‘Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday designed to get us to spend more money!’.But, once upon a time, Valentine’s Day was celebrated with enthusiasm! If you’ve ever wondered why Valentine’s Day is celebrated, or better yet, why roses in particular have become the traditional Valentine's symbol, then you’re in the right place. Where it allegedly all began You might have heard of someone called Saint Valentine. Well, the identity of Saint Valentine isn’t officially confirmed – but this historical figure is the influence of Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's story goes something like this... Picture the scene: it’s over 2000 years ago, and we’re in ancient Rome. Thanks to Emperor Claudius II, you’re no longer allowed to marry the love of your life.

Why? The Emperor banned young men from marrying, as they made better soldiers if they were single. Thankfully, you’ve heard of a priest/bishop called Valentine, and it’s rumoured that he’s marrying young couples on the down low. Eventually, he's thrown in prison because the emperor found out.

Legend has it, that while he’s in prison, he befriends the jailer’s blind daughter and heals her. They became close, and before he was executed on February 14th, he wrote a letter to her and signed it ‘from your Valentine’. How did this evolve into Valentine’s Day? It took a while, but eventually, the Victorians adopted the Valentine’s Day traditions we see today.

Cards were made by hand and were filled with poems and affectionate messages. This was then eventually called ‘Valentines’. The Victorian era also saw the start of gifting flowers to loved ones.