Knowledge Builders

what is so special about valentines day

by Dr. Cortney Fahey Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 every year in many countries. The day celebrates love and affection toward others. It also honors St. Valentine, a priest in the Roman Catholic church who was martyred for marrying Christian couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II.

St Valentine's Day is an annual festival to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration. Every year on 14 February people celebrate this day by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends.

Full Answer

What is the real meaning of Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day is a celebration of love that is observed every year on February 14th. But have you ever wondered how this holiday came to be? To learn about its origins and how it has evolved over time, we spoke with Allen Carden, a professor of history at Fresno Pacific University in California.

What is Valentine's Day really supposed to be about?

As cheesy as it can be, Valentine's Day is supposed to be a time of love. Couples worldwide show kindness and love to their partners through gifts, experiences, and special treatment. It can be a really joyful and exciting time for people in a new or committed relationship.

What are facts about Valentine Day?

Valentine's Day Fun Facts

  1. Approximately 27 percent of those who buy flowers on Valentine's Day are women. Only 73% are men.
  2. The origin of Valentine’s Day is traced back to the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia which was held on February 15. ...
  3. Cupid is said to be the symbol of valentines. ...

More items...

What is the purpose of Valentine's Day?

The Purpose Of Valentine’s Day: Every year on February 14th, people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day. On this day, couples expressing their feelings, emotion and love to their loved ones. The main goals of valentine day love to spread their soulmate and loved once.

image

What is the real meaning of Valentine?

Valentines and Valentine's Day get their name from feast day of Saint Valentine, but there are at least two saints named Valentine, one of whom became a martyr around the year 270 CE. The name Valentine comes from a Latin word meaning “strength.”

Is Valentine's day really that important?

So, does celebrating Valentine's Day matter? Most likely, no. But it is important to find authentic ways to enjoy and celebrate your relationship throughout the year, so if Valentine's Day serves as a good reminder of that, then great!" —Dr.

Is valentine meant for only lovers?

While popular culture makes you believe that Valentine's Day is only for love-struck couples, it's a day of love, and that love can be for anyone. Thus, all kinds of love should be celebrated; whether it is for your parents, your siblings or your children.

Is Valentine's day meant for couples?

Whether it's from your friends, family, pets or even yourself, Valentine's Day is a day to recognize that love exists in many forms. While relationships are fun and it can be great to have a partner to celebrate Valentine's Day with, it is not a necessary part of the holiday.

When is Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration ...

What is Valentine's Day called?

In Chinese, Valentine's Day is called lovers' festival ( simplified Chinese: 情人节; traditional Chinese: 情人節; Mandarin: Qīng Rén Jié; Hokkien: Chêng Lîn Chiat; Cantonese: Chìhng Yàhn Jit; Shanghainese Xin Yin Jiq ). The "Chinese Valentine's Day" is the Qixi Festival (meaning "The Night of Sevens" ( Chinese: 七夕; pinyin: Qi Xi )), celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. According to the legend, the Cowherd star and the Weaver Maid star are normally separated by the Milky Way (silvery river) but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.

How many Valentine's cards were sent in 1840?

A reduction in postal rates following Sir Rowland Hill 's postal reforms with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp ( Penny Black) saw the number of Valentines posted increase, with 400,000 sent just one year after its invention, and ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing Valentines. That made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian. Production increased, "Cupid's Manufactory" as Charles Dickens termed it, with over 3,000 women employed in manufacturing. The Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University gathers 450 Valentine's Day cards dating from early nineteenth century Britain, printed by the major publishers of the day. The collection appears in Seddon's book Victorian Valentines (1996).

How much do Singaporeans spend on Valentine's Day?

According to findings, Singaporeans are among the biggest spenders on Valentine's Day, with 60% of Singaporeans indicating that they would spend between $100 and $500 during the season leading up to the holiday.

What is the tradition of Afghan love?

In their political comment they defy fear by saying ' I kiss you amid the Taliban'

Why is Valentine's Day banned in Saudi Arabia?

In Saudi Arabia, in 2002 and 2008, religious police banned the sale of all Valentine's Day items, telling shop workers to remove any red items, because the day is considered a Christian holiday. This ban has created a black market for roses and wrapping paper. In 2012, the religious police arrested more than 140 Muslims for celebrating the holiday, and confiscated all red roses from flower shops. Muslims are not allowed to celebrate the holiday, and non-Muslims can celebrate only behind closed doors.

What is the Latin American holiday of Valentine's Day?

Latin America. In most Latin American countries, for example, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, Saint Valentine's Day is known as Día de los Enamorados ('Day of Lovers') or as Día del Amor y la Amistad ('Day of Love and Friendship'). It is also common to see people perform "acts of appreciation" for their friends.

What Is Valentine's Day About?

Needless to say, all of us know the answer to the question what is Valentine's day date?. It's February 14th. Almost all nations around the world have adopted the tradition of this celebration of love. Valentine's Day is a special occasion to express affection and admiration to our loved ones.

Valentine's Day Gifting

is romantic day is coming around the corner. If you want a wonderful day to remember, start planning now.

That's A Wrap!

What is Valentine's Day? Has this article satisfied your curiosity? Gossby hopes you can find all the information you came looking for, perhaps more!

Public Opinion

Although Valentine’s Day is technically a holiday, some people have mixed opinions about it. For example, among adult Americans, 57% said that they think Valentine’s Day is only celebrated because of the pressure businesses create around the holiday.

The History Of The Day

Valentine’s Day has a darker history than most people realize. The meaning it had long ago is much different from the one it carries now.

A World Of Opinions

Furthermore, people differ in how strong their opinions are toward Valentine’s Day. Some are adamant about celebrating, others reluctantly go out on fancy dates and buy gifts. Others simply refuse to celebrate at all.

A Worldwide Celebration

Regardless of how Valentine’s Day came to be a holiday, it is celebrated all over the world. Countries that take part have their own traditions and customs, and some take them more seriously than others. While it might seem like just an American holiday, nothing could be further from the truth.

Valentine's Day Is Here To Stay

Valentine’s Day has stood the test of time and remained a tradition for centuries now. It’s not likely that it’s going away anytime soon. Even if you don’t personally feel that Valentine’s Day matters, remember that there are plenty of people who do, and there is cultural and historical significance behind it.

Making Valentine's Day A Year-Round Phenomenon

There can be a lot of pressure on February 14, which is why the best solution may be to treat every day (or at least more days) as if it were Valentine’s Day. That doesn’t mean you have to go all out and buy extravagant gifts and go on fancy dates all the time; just that you show love and affection more often.

Find Healing With ReGain

Valentine’s Day can be sentimental and exciting but can also stir up existing problems in a relationship. This is especially true if one partner expects more out of the day than the other does. Watching other couples celebrate the holiday in extravagant ways can also be hard to watch when your own relationship has problems.

Why is Valentine's Day called Valentine's Day?

The holiday was originally called St. Valentine’s Day in honor of a Roman priest named, you guessed it, St. Valentine. Scholars believe there were actually three men by this name and all were martyrs. Each was brutally killed — beheaded, decapitated, scourged — for refusing to deny his faith.

How do we love God?

Should We Care So Much About It? 1 God in his very nature is love. Without knowing Him, we will never know how to really love someone else ( 1 John 4:8 ). 2 The way we love one another should reflect the way Jesus loves us. He loves us sacrificially, sincerely, and endlessly ( John 15:13, 1 John 3:18, Ephesians 3:17-19 ). 3 What love looks like is best described in 1 Corinthians 13. The apostle Paul writes that even if we have everything, even if we give everything, without love life is meaningless ( 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 ). 4 There’s nothing wrong with expressing feelings through gifts, special dates, or pictures. Celebrating people we care about is a way to reflect how Jesus loves us. Let’s make sure that whatever we do, or don’t do, is rooted in the understanding that Jesus’ love, not our significant other, is what sustains, fulfills, and completes us.

National Tortilla Chip Day

Whether you eat yours plain or dip them, tortilla chips bring the fiesta to any occasion.

Dragobete

Birds do it, bees do it, and so do the Romanian youth on this particular day!

Flag Day Mexico

Time to sport some red, white, and green in solidarity with your Mexican ‘compadres’ today.

I Hate Coriander Day

If rich dishes filled with coriander give you re-curry-ing nightmares, this is the day for you!

Independence Day Estonia

The Estonian Declaration of Independence was signed on this day in 1918. Learn more with us.

National Toast Day

This read will definitely have you popping bread into the toaster, so here’s a heads-up.

World Bartender Day

Bartenders mix our favorite drinks, keep customers happy, and often come up with delicious new drinks.

image

Overview

Celebration and status worldwide

Valentine's Day customs – sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"), offering confectionery and presenting flowers – developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century. In the later 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs spread to other countries, like those of Halloween, or than aspects of Christmas, (such as Santa Claus).

Saint Valentine

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Gelasius I in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, w…

Folk traditions

While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and St. Valentine's Day have become marginalized by modern customs connecting the day with romantic love, there are still some connections with the advent of spring.
While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England. In Norfolk, a c…

Connection with romantic love

The "Feast" (Latin: "in natali", lit.: on the birthday) of Saint Valentine originated in Christendom and has been marked by the Western Church of Christendom in honour of one of the Christian martyrs named Valentine, as recorded in the 8th century Gelasian Sacramentary. In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia was observed February 13–15 on behalf of Pan & Juno, pagan gods of love, marriage & fertility. It was a rite connected to purification and health, and had only slight connection to fertili…

Restrictions on Valentine's day in some countries

The celebration of Valentine's Day has been banned in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia due to beliefs the holiday conflicts with Islamic culture.
Since 2009, certain practices pertaining to Valentine's Day (such as giving flowers, cards, or other gifts suggestive of Valentine's Day) are banned in Iran. Iran's Law Enforcement Force prosecutes distributors of goods with symbols associated with Valentine's Day. In 2021, the Prosecutor's Of…

See also

• World Kiss Day
• Dia dos Namorados
• Sailor's valentine
• Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
• Singles Awareness Day

Further reading

• Anthony M. Sammarco (January 24, 2022). Valentine's Day Traditions in Boston. America Through Time. ISBN 978-1635001075.

1.Valentine’s Day | Definition, History, & Traditions | Britannica

Url:https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day

17 hours ago Valentine’s Day, also called St. Valentine’s Day, holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. Given their similarities, it has been suggested that the …

2.Valentine's Day - Wikipedia

Url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day

7 hours ago  · Valentine's Day is a special occasion to express affection and admiration to our loved ones. Right from the beginning, Valentine's Day has always been a celebration of love. …

3.Videos of What is So Special About Valentines Day

Url:/videos/search?q=what+is+so+special+about+valentines+day&qpvt=what+is+so+special+about+valentines+day&FORM=VDRE

11 hours ago  · In the United States alone, about 52% of adults will celebrate the holiday and in 2021 spent around $21.8 billion in total. In general, Valentine’s Day is associated with gift …

4.What Is Valentine's Day? Facts, Stories, Traditions, And …

Url:https://gossby.com/en-us/blog/what-is-valentines-day

20 hours ago What are some fun facts about Valentine’s day? 145 million greeting cards are exchanged every year for Valentine’s Day. That’s just in the U.S. alone, according to... 8 billion conversation …

5.What Is Valentine's Day And Why Does It Matter? - regain.us

Url:https://www.regain.us/advice/general/what-is-valentines-day-and-why-does-it-matter/

27 hours ago The holiday was originally called St. Valentine’s Day in honor of a Roman priest named, you guessed it, St. Valentine. Scholars believe there were actually three men by this name and all …

6.Why is Valentine’s Day a thing and should we care about …

Url:https://newspring.cc/articles/why-is-valentines-day-a-thing-and-should-we-care-about-it-so-much

6 hours ago Valentines Day is just around the corner and we all know how special it is for all the lovers. It is so special because you celebrate a whole day with your life partner. Your Valentine is the person …

7.Valentine's Day - What's So Special About It? - EzineArticles

Url:https://ezinearticles.com/?Valentines-Day---Whats-So-Special-About-It?&id=3535153

15 hours ago  · Namely, February 14 is the worldwide Valentine’s Day. On this day, it is traditional to share your kindness and love with your dear friends. We all want to meet our friends and …

8.What is Today? | National Days Today

Url:https://nationaltoday.com/what-is-today/

2 hours ago Every day is worthy of a celebration, and we've compiled them into one convenient location. On this page you’ll find all of today’s national days, special days, international days, fun days, …

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9