Interesting Valentine's Day Facts
Valentine’s Day is celebrated every February 14 as couples across the globe honor their spouses, partners and sweethearts. Hundreds of years of traditions and customs have made it into the holiday that we observe today.
Here are nine interesting facts about the holiday dedicated to
love.
Origins to a Bloody Pagan Festival
Some trace Valentine’s Day
origins to a Christian effort to replace a pagan fertility festival
that has been dated as far back as the 6th century B.C. During the
festival of Lupercalia,
Roman priests would sacrifice goats and dogs and use their blood-soaked
hides to slap women on the streets, as a fertility blessing. According
to legend, women would later put their names in an urn and be selected
to be paired with a man for a year.
Letters Addressed to 'Juliet'
Every
year, thousands of romantics send letters addressed to Verona, Italy to
“Juliet,” the subject of the timeless romantic tragedy, “Romeo and
Juliet.” The city marks the location of the Shakespearean tale, and the
letters that reach the city are dutifully answered by a team of
volunteers from the Juliet Club. Each year, on Valentine's Day, the club
awards the "Cara Giulietta" ("Dear Juliet") prize to the author of the
most touching love letter.
Box of Chocolates
The
Valentine’s Day tradition of giving a box of candy was started in the
19th century by Richard Cadbury, a scion of a British chocolate
manufacturing family. With a new technique recently established at the
company to create more varieties of chocolate, Cadbury pounced on the
opportunity to sell the chocolates as part of the beloved holiday.
First Valentine Was Written From a Prison
History’s
first valentine was written in perhaps one of the most unromantic
places conceivable: a prison. Charles, Duke of Orleans wrote the love
letter to his second wife at the age of 21 while captured at the Battle
of Agincourt. As a prisoner for more than 20 years, he would never see
his valentine’s reaction to the poem he penned to her in the early 15th
century.
‘Vinegar Valentines’ Discouraged Suitors
During
the Victoria Era, those who didn’t want the attention of certain
suitors would anonymously send “vinegar valentines." These cards, also
called penny dreadfuls, were the antithesis of customary valentines,
comically insulting and rejecting unwanted admirers. They were later
used to target suffragettes in the late 19th and early 20th century.
‘Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve’
The term “wearing your heart on your sleeve” may have origins in picking a valentine. Smithsonian reports
that during the Middle Ages, men would draw the names of women who they
would be coupled with for the upcoming year while attending a Roman
festival honoring Juno. After choosing, the men wore the names on their
sleeves to show their bond during the festivities.
‘Sweethearts’ Candies Started Out as Lozenges
The
iconic chalky heart-shaped candies that have been passed out lovingly
every Valentine’s Day started out as lozenges. According
to the Food Business News, pharmacist and inventor Oliver Chase created
a machine that would quickly create the lozenges before switching to
using the machine to create candy—later known as Necco Wafers.
Chase’s
brother came up with the idea to print messages on the candy in 1866,
and the candies got their heart shape in 1901, appealing specifically to
Valentine’s Day sweethearts.
Cupid Began as a Greek God
The
chubby baby with wings and a bow and arrow that we call Cupid has been
associated with Valentine’s Day for centuries. However, before he was
renamed Cupid, he was known to the ancient Greeks as Eros, the god of
love. Eros, the son of Greek goddess Aphrodite, would use two sets of
arrows—one for love and another for hate—to play with the emotions of
his targets. It wasn’t until stories of his mischief were told by Romans
that he adopted the childlike appearance that we recognize today.
How ‘X’ Came to Mean ‘Kiss’
The idea of using a kiss to sign off on valentines also has a long history, according to the Washington Post.
The use of “X” came to represent Christianity, or the cross, in the
Middle Ages. During the same time, the symbol was used to sign off on
documents. After marking with an X, the writer would often kiss the mark
as a sign of their oath. As the gesture grew among kings and commoners
to certify books, letters and paperwork, these records were described as
having been “sealed with a kiss.”
No comments
Thanks for viewing, your comments are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Comments on this blog are NOT posted by Olomoinfo, Readers are SOLELY responsible for their comments.
Need to contact us for gossips, news reports, adverts or anything?
Email us on; olomoinfo@gmail.com