Love Is In The Air, St Valentines Day Holiday Traditions

Everyone is familiar with St Valentine's Day. Holiday traditions associated with this day's celebrations are diverse and looked forward to by those especially in love as this is an important day...

Everyone is familiar with St Valentine’s Day. Holiday traditions associated with this day’s celebrations are diverse and looked forward to by those especially in love as this is an important day for those waiting to proclaim their love or show someone they care for them.

The Story Behind St Valentine’s Day Holiday Traditions

St Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 each year. There are many stories related to this holiday. Some believe in Cupid, the god of love. But the story goes that Valentine, a Christian priest was beheaded on February 14 for curing the jailer’s daughter of her blindness through a miracle. He is reputed to have received letters from his friends telling him they missed him. There is the story of another Valentine, an Italian Bishop who helped couples marry secretly and this went against the Roman Laws. He was burnt for this. A pleasanter story relates to a Roman holiday on February 14, celebrating a Roman goddess.

But how did the US begin celebrating St Valentine’s Day? The holiday tradition of selecting a soul mate on this day came to the American colonies from Europe during the middle Ages. Even though it is not officially a holiday, it is celebrated in the US as a special day for lovers.

Couples exchange gifts of candy, send each other flowers, enjoy a quiet dinner with each other, exchange greeting cards called ‘valentines’. The occasion is full of sentiment and romance. Heart shaped cards and boxes are visible everywhere.

Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. The holiday tradition also involves teachers giving their students valentine cards and the students reciprocate. Children make valentine cards for each other and put them in a huge mailbox. There are little parties after these cards are shared.

Newspapers carry valentine’s messages shared by both teenagers and adults in a special section and this is done throughout the US. People send messages to their special ones and there is no age bar for this.

Ms Esther Howland started the holiday tradition of sending the first valentine cards in the 1800s in the US. Today, millions of greeting cards are exchanged each year on Valentine’s Day. There are a variety of cards and a lot of thought goes into them. During the Civil War, these cards carried political symbols. Nowadays, Valentine cards are messages of love, some humorous, some sentimental. The cards can be simple or intricately designed and embellished with lace and dried flowers, etc. so that the recipient can preserve them as keepsakes.

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