Valentine’s Day

It may be commercial, but there is also meaning

Feeling a bit giddy today? Perhaps caught up in the heady tides of romance? It’s Valentine’s Day, when sweethearts offer tokens of love and celebrate their relationship.

At least that’s how most feel.

Others can’t be bothered. They see the day as just another made-up holiday designed to separate the suckers from their shekels.

Both sides have an argument.

The holiday has a long tradition. It is named for not one, but two—maybe three—Christian martyrs named Valentine.

The English writer Geoffrey Chaucer first associated Valentine’s Day with love in a passage in the 1382 poem “Parlement of Foules,” written to honor the betrothal of King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia.

Over the years, though, it was the Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day date that became enshrined as the day for lovers.

The tradition of sending cards on Valentine’s Day apparently began in England with little handwritten notes and cards, but took off in America in 1847 when Esther Howland of Worcester, Mass., designed the first mass-produced cards for her father’s stationary shop. It was the birth of the modern greeting card industry and now about 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year.

Since then, other businesses have gotten into the act. Candy, flowers and jewelry are all now closely associated with the holiday, as are romantic dinners or getaways.

Some revel in all of this, some scoff. But in our view, a day that celebrates love can’t be bad.

So, cynics, sit it out if you will. The rest of us will enjoy the spirit of Valentine’s Day, even if that means shelling out some green. It’s just once a year. But to the one you love, it can mean so much more.