If you’ve ever wondered where Valentine’s Day really comes from, HCX is here to give you that long awaited history lesson. Whether you’ve wondered about it from the slightly smug position as one half of a happy couple or whether you’re the disgruntled singleton who wonders year on year why this holiday ever appeared in the history books to ruin a perfectly good day in the Gregorian calendar, learning the history of St Valentine’s Day will draw you one step closer to understanding it doesn’t matter if you’re hitting your Diamond Jubilee or you’re sitting home watching the Notebook, becoming better acquainted with Ben and Jerry for another year running.
St Valentine’s Day originated in ancient Rome where the 13th, 14th and 15th February were all dedicated to a pagan festival celebrating female fertility. According to Noel Lenski, the classics professor at the University of Colorado, young men would strip naked and spank young women in an effort to improve their fertility. Watch out in Timepiece this Wednesday ladies.
It was then on St Valentine’s Day in 1400 that The High Court of Love in Paris was opened to deal with “affairs of the heart”. As this covered marriage contracts, divorces, infidelity and beaten spouses, Valentine’s Day clearly hasn’t always been about happy couples and romantic meals on “tables for two”. But all was not doom and gloom for V-Day romance, as in the mid-18th century passing love-notes became popular in England.
Sadly, this romantic notion of notes slipped in unsuspecting postboxes probably died out in 1913 when Hallmark Cards produced their first Valentine’s Day Card. Added to the list of “Hallmark Holidays”, the floodgates to the 14th February as a commercial money-making moment were open. It’s estimated that in 2010, 15 million e-valentines were sent to loved ones, a remarkable contrast to the law passed in Saudi Arabia in 2011 that banned the sale of all Valentine’s Day items, including flowers, chocolates and anything red. Viewed in many Muslim countries as a Christian holiday, Malaysia takes its anti-V-day activity even more seriously with regular raids of hotels taking place on the day to stop young couples from having unlawful sex. In 2011, more than 100 Muslim couples were arrested for Valentine’s Day related activities.
So the history of Valentine’s Day has proved turbulent and draws us to the conclusion that being in a relationship on the day may not be remarkably better than being single. For one day in the calendar year you’re going to be classified based on whether you’ve got a man in your life or you don’t. Don’t go on a feminist rampage about your independence being infringed and don’t get down because once again, the only card you’ve been sent is one from your Dad with disguised handwriting. Because on the bright side of whichever group you’re in, none of you are being chased by naked men, spanking you to improve your fertility. And thanks to the Pope, it’s just one day instead of three! If you’re still disgruntled about your single status on facebook then pop to lastminute.com for a weekend away for one to Saudi Arabia. But the way HCX sees it, we’re all winners.
Photocredits: blog.tribune.com; daydaypaint.com; find-me-a-gift.co.uk; neo-photography