Valentine’s Day

FUN FACTS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW

GIVING FLOWERS, chocolate, and heart-shaped cards are all common customs on Valentine’s Day. But where do these traditions come from?

WHAT IS VALENTINE’S DAY?

Whether you think it’s the most romantic day of the year, or an overly commercialised minor holiday that just adds pressure to your love life, Valentine’s Day has some surprising history. The rituals we celebrate with today, like giving meaningful flowers (that may have a hidden message!), or treating our loved ones to a delicious meal at the most romantic restaurant, are actually based on hundreds of years of traditions around love and marriage. Of course, some of these Valentine’s Day facts will lead you to the dark history of Valentine’s Day. Regardless of your feelings about February 14 (Valentine’s Day scrooges can always celebrate Galentine’s Day instead!) these Valentine’s Day facts will answer all your questions about what Valentine’s Day actually is.

1. February 14 used to be a Roman fertility festival

Ah, the most important of Valentine’s Day facts: why it’s celebrated on the 14th of February. February 14 is the feast of St Valentine, a Catholic saint who was executed by Roman Emperor Claudius II on that date some time during the third century AD. Many legends surround the reason for his death sentence. The most popular one says he was a priest who married young couples after Claudius outlawed marriage for young men (apparently they were better soldiers when they weren’t romantically attached). Another says he helped save Catholics who were imprisoned for their religious beliefs. However, the holiday may have been promoted to overshadow the pagan festival Lupercalia. Between February 13 and 15, Romans celebrated by sacrificing a goat and a dog and whipping women with their hides. Crude as it may seem, people believed this made women more fertile, and women actually lined up to get slapped with bloody hides. In the fifth century, Pope Gelasius I outlawed Lupercalia and officially declared February 14 Valentine’s Day. These other Valentine’s traditions from around the world are much less gruesome.

2. Your valentine is St Valentine

Don’t worry, there’s a good reason we call our sweethearts the name of a beheaded priest. Legend has it that when St Valentine was in prison, he prayed with the daughter of one of his judges and cured her blindness. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter, signing it “From your Valentine”. Whether or not this was a romantic gesture is up for debate. Nevertheless, the signature caught on and is still used to show affection. Don’t miss these dreamy Valentine’s Day adventures for couples.

3. The heart shape is actually from a plant

If we were anatomically correct when we drew hearts, the result would be a complex clump of valves and muscles. While the shape we’re more familiar with is a lot easier to draw, no one really knows the origin of the heart shape. One possibility is that it resembles the nowextinct plant silphium. Once found in the African city-state Cyrene, the plant was used as food colouring, a cough syrup, and most notably, a contraceptive. The shape’s association with sex eventually turned into one of love. The other suggestion is actually anatomical in nature. Some have thought the shape to be a representation of breasts, buttocks, sexual organs, or an inaccurate depiction of a real heart. Here are a few romantic movies to watch for Valentine’s Day.

4. Red roses mean romance in the Victorian language of flowers

Back in the Victorian era, people expressed their emotions through floriography or the language of flowers. Giving a certain kind of flower conveyed a specific message, and red roses meant romance. Today, they carry that same symbol of romance – and they’re really cheap. The United States buys huge quantities from large farms in Colombia and Ecuador, where the cost of labour is low. Then they’re transported on refrigerated planes and arrive stateside in just three or four days. The reason these summer flowers bloom in February? Growers control what temperature they’re stored at to make them open in time for Valentine’s Day. In need of more Valentine’s Day facts? Here’s what different rose colours mean.