08.02.2015

Celebration in Catholic countries Valentine's Day It has long been a pleasant tradition, but in Russia this holiday appeared relatively recently. Many have already managed to love it almost more than the New Year, others are skeptical about it, assuring everyone around that this is “not our” holiday and should not be celebrated. But there is no such person who would not know about the existence of Valentine's Day.

Cute hearts, warm valentines, colorful balloons, declarations of love, romantic dates by candlelight - all this has become firmly established in life modern people and is firmly associated with February 14th.

On the eve of this special day, many people stock up on gifts for their loved ones, but few people know where this tradition came from. There are quite a few legends about the origin of Valentine's Day. Some of them seem more plausible, others less so. But they are all necessarily romantic, as befits such an event.

The main version of the origin of Valentine's Day

Despite the variety of options, the main hypothesis of the origin of this holiday goes back to the 3rd century AD. It was then that Rome was ruled ClaudiusXI. This emperor was firmly convinced that all troubles came from marriage. He believed that it was family bonds prevent soldiers from performing their duty properly. Therefore, Claudius insisted by order that all his legionnaires be free from any obligations.

But no despot or tyrant is able to prohibit young people from loving. In secret, under the cover of darkness, the Roman soldiers continued to whisper tender confessions and exchange vows with your loved ones. And the priest named Valentine performed the ritual over everyone who wanted it.

One day Claudius learned that his laws were not being enforced. He ordered Valentine to be captured and imprisoned. A little later he was sentenced to death. But during the time that the holy father was in prison, tender feelings penetrated into his own heart.

Valentin's chosen one was the daughter of a local jailer. The young people exchanged passionate notes. On the day before his execution, the future saint sent his last message to his beauty, signing it “from Valentine.”

At the moment, this legend is considered the most plausible. This is the version adhered to by most historians who study the origins of various holidays and traditions.

Alternative versions of the origin of Valentine's Day

There is a more magical version of the origin happy holiday. According to it, Valentine, imprisoned by order of Claudius XI, fell in love with a girl named Julia. She was the daughter of the warden of the prison in which the clergyman was placed. Julia was blind, but this could not moderate Valentin's ardor. Before his death, he sent her a note with yellow saffron attached. Having opened the message and taken the saffron in her hands, the girl miraculously regained her sight.

The name Valentine was borne by several saints who lived at different times. Valentine, whose life researchers usually turn to when it comes to the history of the celebration of Valentine's Day, lived in 269 AD in the territory of the Roman Empire. A little later, the bishop of Intermana, also Valentin, was in turn sentenced to execution. This man had the ability to heal, and was sentenced to death because he managed to convince the son of the local mayor of the truth of his faith.

According to another legend, Christian clergy have nothing to do with the celebration of Valentine's Day. Some claim that this tradition goes back to pagan times. At that time there was a holiday called Lupercalia. It was dedicated to Faun, who was the patron of flocks, and was celebrated in Rome. This day was considered a day of abundance and love. The girls wrote reverent messages, folded them in half and lowered them into a narrow vessel, from where the boys pulled them out. This is how it was determined who would look after whom on this day.

Celebrating Valentine's Day

The first valentine in history came from the pen of the Duke Orléans. When the nobleman ended up in prison, he was very homesick not only for freedom, but also for his wife. He began writing passionate messages to his soul mate, in which he confessed his love to her in every possible way.

Today this tradition is firmly rooted. Valentines for every taste and color can be bought at any bookstore or just in stalls. Some of them look cute and modest. Others already contain florid text with a confession of passionate feelings. You can, of course, show your imagination and make a Valentine card yourself, hitting your chosen one in the very heart.

In addition to love notes, the traditional symbols of the holiday today are flowers and chocolate. Men and women give them to each other as material proof of their affection.

A timeless option for celebrating Valentine's Day is romantic dinner, rose petals, walks under the moon and the ubiquitous candles. Those who prefer more noisy entertainment can visit themed parties in many clubs that prepare for this day in advance.

Sometimes city authorities give a gift to all lovers and set up stages in the main squares, where festive performances are held and favorite performers perform. Many couples believe that a happy future awaits them if February 14th is St. Valentine's Day they will get married, and therefore this is one of the most common days for weddings, especially in Catholic countries.

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Story

Valentine's Day has existed for more than the 15th century, but according to pagan traditions, the holidays of “Love” were popular back in ancient times.

So, in Ancient Rome, on February 15, every year they celebrated the festival of abundance - Lupercalia - in honor of the god Faun (Lupercus is one of his nicknames), the patron saint of herds.

And the day before Lupercalia, the holiday of the Roman goddess of marriage, motherhood and women Juno and the god Pan was celebrated.

On this day, girls wrote love letters, which they placed in a huge urn, and then the men pulled out the letters. Then every man began to court that girl, love letter which he pulled out.

In ancient Greece, this holiday was called Panurgia - ritual games in honor of the god Pan (in Roman mythology - Faun) - the patron saint of herds, forests, fields and their fertility. According to mythology, Pan is a merry fellow and a rake, plays the flute beautifully and forever pursues the nymphs with his love. There is information that this day was also called the “Bird Wedding”, since it was believed that birds form mating pairs precisely in the second week of the second month of the year.

Saint Valentine There are many legends associated with the name of St. Valentine. The most beautiful and romantic of them is the story of a Christian preacher who, in 269, married legionnaires of the Roman Empire with their lovers, despite the ban of Emperor Claudius II.

To preserve the military spirit, the emperor issued a decree prohibiting legionnaires from marrying, since it was believed that a married person was thinking about how to feed his family, and not about the good of the empire and military prowess.

Saint Valentine sympathized with the lovers and tried to help them in every possible way - he reconciled quarreling lovers, composed letters for them with declarations of love, gave flowers to young spouses and secretly married soldiers.

Claudius II, having learned about this, ordered the priest to be thrown into prison, and soon signed a decree on his execution. Shrouded in a halo of romance last days life of Saint Valentine.

According to legend, the blind daughter of a jailer fell in love with him, but Valentine, as a priest who had taken a vow of celibacy, could not respond to her feelings. However, on the night before the execution on February 13, he wrote to her touching letter, where he spoke about his love. And the girl, having read the message after the execution of the priest, received her sight.

It is assumed that this is where the tradition of writing love notes on Valentine's Day—"valentines"—comes from.

According to the Catholic Church, Saint Valentine actually healed a blind girl - the daughter of the dignitary Asterius, who believed in Christ and was baptized. Claudius then ordered the execution of Valentine. That is, Valentine suffered for his faith, and therefore was canonized.

There is an assumption that the Church introduced Valentine's Day as a counterweight to the popular pagan holiday of Love, which could not be eradicated with the advent of Christianity.

Around this time, a legend appeared to explain why St. Valentine patronizes lovers.

One way or another, two hundred years later Valentine was proclaimed a Saint, the patron saint of all lovers.

However, in 1969, as a result of the reform of worship, St. Valentine was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The basis for this was the fact that there is no information about this martyr, except for the name and information about beheading by the sword.

Valentine's card

The very first Valentine's card in the world is considered to be a note sent by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife from the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned in 1415.

Valentine cards were very popular in the 18th century, especially in England. They were exchanged as gifts. The lovers made cards from multi-colored paper and signed them with colorful ink. By the beginning of the 20th century, as printing technology improved, handwritten cards were replaced by printed ones.

Today, on Valentine's Day, it is customary to give each other valentines in the form of hearts, with declarations of love, marriage proposals, or just jokes. People also like to hold weddings and get married on this day.

Traditions

In Europe, this holiday has been widely celebrated since the 13th century. In England, they used to carve wooden “love spoons” and give them to their loved ones. They were decorated with hearts, keys and keyholes, which symbolized that the path to the heart was open.

Louis XVI is considered to be the founder of the tradition of giving red roses to lovers, who presented such a bouquet to Marie Antoinette. According to legend, Aphrodite stepped on a bush of white roses and stained the roses with her blood, which is how red roses appeared.

According to ancient custom, in England and Scotland on the eve of the holiday dedicated to St. Valentine, young people put tickets with the names of young girls written on them in an urn. Then everyone took out one ticket.

The girl whose name was given young man, became his “Valentine” for the coming year, and he became her “Valentine”. This meant that a relationship arose between the young people for a year, similar to those that, according to descriptions of medieval romances, arose between a knight and his “lady of the heart.”

According to legend, in Britain unmarried girls On February 14, they get up before sunrise, stand near the window and look at the passing men - the first man they see is their betrothed.

Italians call February 14 a sweet day and give sweets and candies. Valentine cards are sent by mail in a pink envelope without a return address. In romantic Denmark, they usually send dried white flowers to each other, and in Spain, sending a love message with a carrier pigeon is considered the height of passion.

In France, it is customary to give jewelry on Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day, the French also hold various romantic competitions. For example, the competition for the longest serenade - a love song - is very popular. And it was in France that the epistle-quatrain was first written.

In Japan, on Valentine's Day, which began to be celebrated in the 30s of the 20th century, it is customary to give men chocolate - usually in the form of a figurine of St. Valentine.

This is not so much a declaration of love as a sign of attention.

The tradition of giving sweets on this day appeared at the suggestion of one large chocolate manufacturing company. In addition, the Japanese hold a competition for the loudest and brightest love message. Boys and girls climb onto the platform and shout from there about their love.

Valentine's Day has been celebrated in the United States since 1777. The tradition of giving gifts on this day grew stronger every year and for some it became a fairly successful business.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Americans developed a custom of giving marzipan figurines to their loved ones on this day. And marzipan in those days was considered a great luxury.

In the post-Soviet space, people first paid attention to Valentine's Day about two decades ago. But only last years celebrated en masse with valentines, congratulations and declarations of love.

Valentine's Day is also celebrated in Georgia, despite the fact that the country has its own

It is curious that the Georgian Day of Love was once introduced as an alternative

Valentine's Day, the tradition of celebrating which came to the newly independent states from Western countries. Romantic Georgians, like many other countries,

where there is an alternative Day of Love, today both holidays are celebrated, according to the principle, the more the better.

But there are countries in the world where the holiday of Love is taboo. First of all, this is Saudi Arabia, which is the only country in the world where this holiday is officially banned, and under pain of heavy fines.

Valentine's Day: history of the holiday, who Valentine is, in what year Valentine's Day appeared, traditional gifts.

Valentine's Day: history of the holiday

It is believed that Valentine's Day has existed for more than 16 centuries, but the holidays of Love have been known since even earlier times - since the times of ancient pagan cultures.

For example, the ancient Romans celebrated a festival of eroticism called Lupercalia in mid-February, in honor of the goddess of love, Juno Februata.

In ancient times, Rus' had its own holiday - Valentine's Day, which was celebrated at the beginning of summer - it is associated with the legendary love story of Peter and Fevronia and is dedicated to Kupala - the pagan Slavic god, the son of Perun.

Valentine's Day: who is Valentine?

Unfortunately, documented data about Saint Valentine has not survived to this day. It could be either a martyr from Rome - a Christian priest, or a generous philanthropist who donated huge sums for the construction of churches.

The most beautiful legend about Saint Valentine, which is passed down from mouth to mouth, says: during the reign of Emperor Claudius II in the Roman Empire - approximately 269 - the emperor’s army lacked soldiers for military campaigns. To increase the size of the army, the emperor issued a decree calling up soldiers for military service. Even marriage did not save you from service - according to this decree of the emperor, legionnaires were forbidden to marry.

Tradition says that at this time a young priest and skilled physician, Valentin, lived in Rome, adding wine, milk and honey to his mixtures for the sick. A jailer who had a blind daughter learned about his medical skill. Although her blindness seemed incurable to Valentine, he prayed for her healing and prepared medicines, and the longer he worked, the more he fell in love with the blind girl. Unable to help her, he tried to be useful topics lovers who were separated by the cruel decree of the emperor, secretly marrying them in the temple.

For this, Valentin was imprisoned and sentenced to death. The night before his execution, he wrote a note to his beloved: “I’m sorry. Your Valentine,” and wrapped a saffron flower in it. A miracle happened: the blind girl was able to read the words and see the flower.

Apparently, this is why it became customary to write love notes on Valentine’s Day - “Valentines” - notes to people dear to your heart in the shape of hearts.

Valentine's Day: in what year did the holiday appear?

The roots of the holiday - Valentine's Day - are pagan. In some regions, February 14 was called Bird Wedding Day, because at this time birds pair up to build nests.

In 496, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14th Valentine's Day.

In the 17th century in France, the historian Tillemont, and later in the 18th century in England, Butler and Douce, suggested that Valentine's Day was introduced to replace the pagan rite of choosing the names of lovers at random on the eve of the feast of the goddess Juno, celebrated on February 15.

In Western Europe, Valentine's Day began to be widely celebrated from the 13th century, in the USA - from 1777.

Valentine's Day: what to give to your loved ones?

Traditionally, on Valentine's Day, lovers give each other “Valentines” - notes about their feelings, written on paper in the shape of a heart.

Traditional gifts for Valentine's Day are sweets - marzipan, candy and chocolate. Fresh flowers packed in a heart-shaped bouquet will also be a wonderful gift for your loved one.

It is very symbolic on Valentine's Day, on Valentine's Day - to propose marriage to your beloved girl on this day - your beloved will never forget such a gift!

But the story of Saint Valentine himself is not known to everyone. In this article we will tell you how many Valentines there are and what the history of Valentine's Day is.

When asking on the Internet when Valentine's Day is, remember that all lovers in the world celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14, thus honoring the saint and confessing their feelings to each other. St. Valentine, the history of the holiday has already become overgrown with a crazy number of myths and legends, and no one can say for sure how everything really happened, but there is beautiful story, thanks to which on February 14, lovers give valentines and secretly confess their feelings.

Legends and myths about Saint Valentine

The Catholic Church venerates three martyred saints named Valentine, but there is almost no reliable information about their lives. The most common version about this hero says that Valentine of Rome was a priest and suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Christians in the 3rd century AD. e. According to legend, the Roman Emperor Claudius II could not recruit enough soldiers into his army. Then he decided that the reason that soldiers do not want to serve their fatherland is that their wives do not allow them to go to war. Needless to say, he forbade young men to marry.

Valentine's Day history says that Saint Valentine was a healer and preacher of Christianity. This man prayed for the sick, helped them recover, and also secretly married lovers, although this was prohibited. Soon a prison guard turned to him for help to heal his daughter Julia from blindness. The priest prescribed eye ointment for the girl and told her to come back later.

Somewhere during this period, the emperor learned that behind his back a priest was secretly marrying lovers and that same evening he imprisoned Saint Valentine. Anticipating his fate, Valentin wrote to blind Julia suicide note with a declaration of love and passed it on to her through her father. Execution quickly befell Valentin, literally on the same day, February 14th. When the girl opened the note, inside it was saffron and the signature “Your Valentine.” Julia took the saffron in her hands, and her vision was miraculously restored. This is how Valentine's Day was born on February 14th.

Later, as a Christian martyr who suffered for the faith, Valentin Interamnsky was canonized by the Catholic Church. And in 496, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th Valentine's Day.

Now you know when Valentine's Day is in 2018.

If we talk about the popularity of Valentine's Day, it was first celebrated en masse only in the 19th century in Great Britain, then the wave reached the United States. As trendsetters, they have developed a whole strategy and now on February 14, lovers arrange romantic dates for each other, buy heart-shaped cards - “Valentines” - and other cute gifts: plush toys, perfume, bouquets of flowers, sweets, etc.

Don’t miss this date and congratulate your other half with a memorable one.

It is unlikely that it will be possible to establish reliable facts about the origin of Valentine's Day, but one thing is clear - this holiday is not as romantic as it is commonly thought. Who is Valentin?

Meet Saint Valentine

The Catholic Church recognizes three martyred saints named Valentine. One legend tells of Valentine, who lived in the third century. He was a priest and served Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single male soldiers were more useful than married ones, he forbade young men to marry. Valentin challenged Claudius and continued to secretly conduct weddings for lovers. When everything was revealed, the emperor ordered the execution of the priest.

There is another version that St. Valentine was killed for trying to save Christians from harsh Roman prisons, where they were beaten and tortured. According to legend, the imprisoned martyr sent his first Valentine when he fell in love with a cute girl (presumably the jailer's daughter). He wrote a suicide letter signed “From your Valentine.” This is how we most often sign today’s love letters.

There is a less dramatic version. It is believed that Valentine's Day was invented by Father Gelasius I as a replacement for the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia. Lupercalia is an ancient Roman pagan fertility festival, named after the god Faun - Lupercava. Such a festival was celebrated annually from February 13 to 15 at the foot of the Palatine Hill - the central one of the 7 on which Rome arose.

The festival took place according to the following scenario: local youth and priests brought a sacrifice on the altar - a young goat or dog. They cut the skins of killed animals into pieces, stripped naked and went running for a brisk walk around their property. Important: everyone along the way had to be beaten with goat skins. Those who fell under the distribution did not dare to complain! For women, such spankings promised fertility, and then an easy birth.

In 1910, Hallmark launched Valentine's Day cards.

There are other versions. For example, professor in English University of Kansas, the late Jack B. Oruch conducted research and came to the conclusion that the poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to christen February 14 as Love Day in “Parlement of Foules” and “The Complaint of Mars”. . According to this version, the holiday was born in the 14th century.

This date was considered the beginning of the bird marriage season - and therefore the ideal day to celebrate the love of all living things. The 34th and 35th ballads of the English poet John Gower are about this.

It is unlikely that we will ever know the truth about St. Valentine, but one thing all the legends have in common is that he is one of the most popular saints in France and England.

What else is interesting?

Some celebrate February 14 as Geek Day, while others celebrate the founding day of the worldwide YouTube service. Someone continues to honor the memory of Anna German, who was born on this day. For Germans, February 14 is Mental Health Day.

An important point - if it weren’t for this holiday, it’s unknown when we would have tasted the first box chocolates! Today such a pleasant little thing complements every gift, and it was invented by Richard Calbury for Valentine's Day.

The holiday has haters, but that's it more people prefer carefree walks and public declarations of love. In 2001, on February 14, a record was set: 34 couples from 22 countries got married underwater at a depth of ten meters, near Kradan Island in southern Thailand. This is the most massive underwater marriage. There aren't many weddings on Valentine's Day in Jamaica, but there are some! They are called “naked” because the couple are wearing only rings.

And in Mexico City they decided to get into the Guinness Book of Records by organizing a kissing flash mob - there were 40,000 participants.

On Valentine's Day, 150 million Valentine's cards are sent each year.

In Japan, Valentine's Day is a men's holiday. To the stronger sex It is customary to give gifts and write poems. But this is not sexism, women will definitely be congratulated a little later - on White Day, exactly in a month.

Those with a sweet tooth should celebrate the holiday somewhere in Italy. Not only is it romantic and atmospheric, here Valentine's Day = the sweetest day. They give each other cakes and pastries decorated with doves and hearts.

Do not under any circumstances travel to Iran and Saudi Arabia– no romance or sweets. This holiday is banned here. Rebels will be rewarded with a huge fine. The authorities are so strict because they consider Valentine's Day to be propaganda of sinful traditions that has a detrimental effect on the minds. AND Teddy bear You won’t find anything with fire here - this is a clear attribute of a lascivious holiday.

Don't be sad if you are still single this Valentine's Day. Americans then buy valentines and gifts for their pets - and rest assured, they will reciprocate your feelings!

Lera Koptseva