The most romantic day of the year … singles awareness day … a pointless holiday created by greedy chocolate and greeting card companies.
No matter what someone prefers to call it, there is no denying that today is Valentine’s Day.
The celebration of Valentine’s Day originated in the Middle Ages. During this time in France and England, it was believed that Feb. 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February, Valentine’s Day, should be a day for romance, according to HistoryChannel.com.
But to find the origins of the word Valentine, one must go back to third century Rome.
Valentine’s Day is named after St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. Before his sainthood, Valentine was a Roman priest who fought against the laws of the empire in the name of love. When Emperor Claudius II ruled that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men so that they might serve as potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death, according to the History Channel Web site.
Tradition holds that St. Valentine was the first person to send a valentine message, according to the Greeting Card Association Web site. On the eve of his execution for refusing to renounce Christianity, Valentine sent a note of appreciation to his jailer’s blind daughter for bringing him food and delivering messages during his incarceration. The note was signed “from your Valentine,” and a tradition of sending notes and love messages soon followed.
In the 1400s, valentines were charmingly written and often given anonymously. Verses became popular in the 1700s and the familiar “roses are red, violets are blue.” was born. By the 1850s, the French began to ornament their notes and cards with metallic paper, ribbons, lace and other intricate embellishments, according to the Greeting Card Association.
Valentines made their first appearance during the days of the Revolutionary War. Valentines at the time were handmade with sentimental verses written in flowing script. In 1840, Esther Howland became the first regular publisher of valentines in the United States and eventually headed her own publishing firm that specialized in Valentine cards, according to the Greeting Card Association.
Continually celebrated by people in love and children in elementary school classrooms around the world, many regard Valentine’s Day as one of the most romantic days of the year.
Many companies also regard it as one of the most profitable holidays of the year.
More than 63 percent of consumers will celebrate Valentine’s Day this year and will spend more than $16 billion, according to the National Retail Federation Web site.
More than 62 percent of consumers purchase their special someone a valentine card. An estimated 1 billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, with more than 2 billion cards sent at Christmas, according to the Greeting Cards Association Web site.
Young adults celebrating Valentine’s Day are expected to spend an average of $143 this Valentine’s day, up from nearly $82 in 2006, according to the NRF. Forty-eight percent of consumers will also purchase candy and nearly 38 percent will send a loved one flowers.
Nearly 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are expected to be sold this Valentine’s Day, according to Forbes.com.
In 2006, 189 million roses were produced for Valentine’s Day. Seventy-four percent of valentine rose purchases are made by men, according to the Society of American Florists.
Additionally, 45 percent of couples will spend a special evening out on the town, according to the NRF
Like Christmas, Valentine’s Day can be a holiday that is easy to procrastinate about. Twenty-seven percent of consumers wait until the last minute to make their Valentine’s Day purchases, according to Forbes.com
Valentine’s Day also has many novelties that are often rooted in childhood memory like wearing red or handing out paper valentines with the coolest cartoon character on them to schoolmates.
One of the most famous Valentine’s Day novelties is NECCO’s Sweetheart Candy Conversation Hearts.
The sugary treats with fun phrases imprinted on them and flavors like orange, cherry and banana are a Valentine’s Day tradition.
Sweethearts are the top-selling non-chocolate Valentine’s Day candy with an annual production of 8 billion candies, according to the NECCO Web site.
Founded in the late 1800s, Sweetheart Conversation Hearts started as a grown-up kind of candy. They were often used at weddings and had phrases like, “Married in satin, Love will not be lasting,” “Married in Pink, He will take to drink” and “Married in white, You have chosen right.”
In the 1900s, the hearts had the familiar declarations of admiration but often took different shapes than hearts, such as baseballs, postcards and watches.
Today the company sticks with the successful heart shape and the sayings have become shorter and G-rated. Some of the original sayings, however, are still being used today. They include “Be Mine,” “Be Good,” “Be True,” “Kiss Me” and “Sweet Talk.”
In order to keep up with current slang and trends, it has been a NECCO tradition since the 1990s to add 10 new sayings for Sweethearts every year.
The new sayings for 2007 are “Cool Cat,” “Puppy Love,” “Take a Walk,” “My Pet,” “Bear Hug,” “Top Dog,” “URA Tiger,” “Go Fish,” “Love Bird” and “Purr Fect,” according to the NECCO Web site.