Can you guess which holiday has an estimated 150 million cards and gifts sent out and 448 million dollars spent on candy in the U.S?
You guessed it! The holiday of love, Valentine’s Day.
It is a day to celebrate romance and love between couples and friends. Valentine’s Day traditions include exchanging gifts, like chocolate or flowers dating back to both Christian and Ancient Roman times. We often see decorations with hearts, doves, Cupid with his bow and arrows, and everything is pink and red. Valentine’s Day is celebrated across the world in many countries other than the United States, like: Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
The holiday is believed to be named after Saint Valentine. The most famous legend behind Saint Valentine is that Valentine was imprisoned and he sent the first ‘valentine’ to a young girl who was rumored to be the jailer’s daughter. Before he died, it is alleged that he wrote to the girl and signed the letter, “From Your Valentine”. Another legend that surrounds Saint Valentine is that Valentine was a priest who preformed marriages for young lovers in secret after Emperor Claudius II banned all young men from marrying.
The oldest known valentine was from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415; this in now apart of the manuscript collection in the British Library located in London. Valentines became more common in the United States after the early 1700’s.
In many schools, children hand out Valentine’s Day cards and candy to their classmates. They even are encouraged to decorate boxes for the cards to be put in. Some people will throw parties to celebrate Valentine’s Day or even Anti-Valentine’s Day parties for those who are celebrating being single.
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