Learn About Valentine's Day
In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep learning about Valentine's Day. It is the day of love and friendship throughout many parts of the world. Yet, you won't get the sense of what it's about because you'll be asleep by then. Happy sleeping!
Transcript
Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,
Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.
I'm your host,
Benjamin Boster.
Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,
Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day,
Also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,
Is celebrated annually on February 14th.
It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine,
And through later folk traditions,
It has also become a significant cultural,
Religious,
And commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.
There are a number of martyrdom stories associated with various Saint Valentines connected to February 14th,
Including an account of the imprisonment of Saint Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in the 3rd century.
According to an early tradition,
Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer.
Numerous later additions to the legend have better related it to the theme of love.
Tradition maintains that Saint Valentine performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry by the Roman Emperor.
An 18th-century embellishment to the legend claims he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter signed Your Valentine as a farewell before his execution.
The 8th-century Gelasen Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14th.
The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished,
Apparently by association with the lovebirds of early spring.
In 8th-century England,
It grew into an occasion for couples to express their love for each other by presenting flowers,
Offering confectionery,
And sending greeting cards,
Known as Valentines.
Valentine's Day's symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline,
Doves,
And the figure of the winged Cupid.
In the 19th century,
Handmade cards gave way to mass-produced greetings.
In Italy,
Saint Valentine's keys are given to lovers as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver's heart,
As well as to children to ward off epilepsy,
Called Saint Valentine's Malady.
Saint Valentine's Day is not a public holiday in any country,
Although it is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church.
Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate Saint Valentine's Day on July 6th,
In honor of Roman Presbyter Saint Valentine,
And on July 30th in honor of Hiero Martyr Valentine,
The Bishop of Taramna,
Modern Terni.
Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.
The Valentines honored on February 14th are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni.
Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia.
The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the church and catacombs of Saint Valentino in Rome,
Which remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages,
Until the relics of Saint Valentine were transferred to the Church of Santa Preceda during the pontificate of Nicholas IV.
The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmodone,
Rome.
Other relics are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin,
Ireland.
The son of Terni became Bishop of Interamna,
Now Terni in central Italy,
And is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273.
He is buried on the Via Flaminia,
But in a different location from Valentine of Rome.
His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni.
Professor Jack B.
Orich of the University of Kansas notes that abstracts of the Acts of the Two Saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe.
A relic claimed to be Saint Valentine of Terni's head was preserved in the Abbey of New Minster,
Winchester,
And venerated.
The Catholic Encyclopedia speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under a date of February 14th.
He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions,
But nothing more is known about him.
February 14th is celebrated as Saint Valentine's Day in various Christian denominations.
It has,
For example,
The rank of commemoration in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion.
The feast day of Saint Valentine is given in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church.
In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints,
The feast day of Saint Valentine of February 14th was relegated from the general Roman calendar to particular local or even national calendars for the following reason.
Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient,
It is left to particular calendars since,
Apart from his name,
Nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14th.
Therefore,
As he remains within the Roman martyrology,
He may be recognized optionally during Mass outside of Christmastide and Eastertide.
The feast day is still celebrated in Balsan,
Malta,
Where relics of the saint are claimed to be found,
And also throughout the world by traditionalist Catholics who follow the older pre-2nd Vatican Council calendar.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church,
Saint Valentine is recognized on July 6th,
In which Saint Valentine,
The Roman presbyter,
Is honored.
In addition,
The Eastern Orthodox Church observes the feast of Hieromartyr Valentine,
Bishop of Interomna,
On July 30th.
J.
C.
Cooper,
In The Dictionary of Christianity,
Writes that Saint Valentine was a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succoring persecuted Christians.
Contemporary records of Saint Valentine were most probably destroyed during this Diocletianic persecution in the early 4th century.
In the 5th or 6th century,
A work called Passio Mariae Marte published a story of martyrdom for Saint Valentine of Rome,
Perhaps by borrowing tortures that happened to other saints,
As was usual in the literature of that period.
The same events are found in Bede's Martyrology,
Which was compiled in the 8th century.
It states that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person.
Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life.
Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead.
Because of this,
He was executed.
Before his execution,
He is reported to have performed a miracle by healing Julia,
The blind daughter of his jailer Asterius.
The jailer's daughter and his 46-member household,
Family members,
And servants came to believe in Jesus and were baptized.
A later Passio repeated the legend,
Adding that Pope Julius I built a church over his sepulcher.
It is a confusion with a 4th century tribune called Valentino,
Who donated land to build a church at a time when Julius was a pope.
The legend was picked up as fact by later martyrologies,
Starting with Bede's Martyrology in the 8th century.
It was repeated in the 13th century in The Golden Legend.
There is an additional embellishment to The Golden Legend,
Which according to Henry Onsgar Kelly was added in the 18th century and widely repeated.
On the evening before Valentine was to be executed,
He is supposed to have written the first Valentine card himself,
Addressed to the daughter of his jailer Asterius,
Who was no longer blind,
Signing as Your Valentine.
The expression From Your Valentine was later adopted by modern Valentine letters.
This legend has been published by both American Greetings and the History Channel.
John Fox,
A 16th century English historian,
And the Order of Carmelites state that Saint Valentine was buried in the church of Praxites in Rome,
Located near the cemetery of Saint Hippolytus.
This order says that,
According to legend,
Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave.
Today,
The almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.
Another embellishment suggests that Saint Valentine performed clandestine Christian weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry.
The Roman Emperor Claudius II supposedly forbade this in order to grow his army,
Believing that married men did not make for good soldiers.
However,
George Monger writes that this marriage ban was never issued,
And that Claudius II told his soldiers to take two or three women for themselves after his victory over the Goths.
According to the legend,
In order to remind these men of their vows and God's love,
Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment,
Giving them to these soldiers and persecuted Christians,
A possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on Saint Valentine's Day.
Saint Valentine supposedly wore a purple amethyst ring,
Customarily worn on the hands of Christian bishops,
With an image of Cupid engraved in it,
A recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire.
Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform marriage for them.
Possibly due to the association with Saint Valentine,
Amethyst has become the birthstone of February,
Which is thought to attract love.
While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and Saint Valentine's Day have become marginalized by modern customs,
Connecting the day with romantic love,
There are still some connections with the advent of spring.
While the custom of sending cards,
Flowers,
Chocolates,
And other gifts originated in the UK,
Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England.
In Norfolk,
A character called Jack Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses,
Leaving sweets and presents for children.
Although he was leaving treats,
Many children were scared of this mystical person.
In Slovenia,
Saint Valentine or Stravko was one of the saints of spring,
The saint of good health,
And the patron of beekeepers and pilgrims.
A proverb says that Saint Valentine brings the keys of roots.
Plants and flowers start to grow on this day.
It has been celebrated as the day when the first work in the vineyards and in the fields commences.
It is also said that birds propose to each other or marry on that day.
Another proverb says,
Valentin pirvi spomladn,
Valentine,
The first spring saint.
As in some places,
Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring.
Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love.
The day of love was traditionally March 12,
The Saint Gregory's Day,
Or February 22,
Saint Vincent's Day.
The patron of love was Saint Anthony,
Whose day has been celebrated on June 13.
The feast,
Latin in Natale,
On the birthday of Saint Valentine,
Originated in Christendom and has been marked by the Western Church of Christendom in honor of one of the Christian martyrs,
Named Valentine,
As recorded in the 8th-century Gelasian sacramentary.
In ancient Rome,
Lupercalia was observed February 13-15 on behalf of Pan and Juno,
Pagan gods of love,
Marriage,
And fertility.
It was a rite connected to purification and health,
And had only slight connection to fertility as a part of health and none to love.
The celebration of Saint Valentine is not known to have had any romantic connotations until Chaucer's poetry about Valentine's Day in the 14th century,
Some 700 years after celebration of Lupercalia is believed to have ceased.
Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome.
The more general festival of Juno februa,
Meaning Juno the purifier,
Or the chaste Juno,
Was celebrated on February 13 and 14.
Although the Pope Gelasius I,
492-496,
Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia says that he abolished Lupercalia,
Theologian and Methodist minister Bruce Forbes wrote that no evidence has been demonstrated to link Saint Valentine's Day and the rites of the ancient Roman purification festival of Lupercalia,
Despite claims by many authors to the contrary.
Some researchers have theorized that Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with the celebration of the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
And claim a connection to the 14th century's connotations of romantic love,
But there is no historical indication that he ever intended such a thing.
Also the dates do not fit because at the time of Gelasius I,
The feast was only celebrated in Jerusalem,
And it was on February 14 only because Jerusalem placed the nativity of Jesus,
Christmas,
On January 6.
Although it was called purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
It also dealt with the presentation of Jesus at the temple.
Jerusalem's purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary on February 14 became the presentation of Jesus at the temple on February 2,
As it was introduced to Rome and other places in the 6th century after Gelasius I's time.
Albin Butler,
In his The Lives of the Fathers,
Martyrs,
And Other Principal Saints,
Claimed without proof that boys and girls in Lupercalia drew names from a jar to make couples,
And that modern Valentine's letters originated from this custom.
In reality,
This practice originated in the Middle Ages,
With no link to Lupercalia,
With boys drawing the names of girls at random to couple with them.
This custom was combated by priests,
For example by Francis de Salas,
Around 1600.
Apparently by replacing it with a religious custom of girls drawing the names of apostles from the altar.
However,
This religious custom is recorded as early as the 13th century in the life of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary,
So it could have a different origin.
The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is believed to be in the Parliament of Fowles,
1382,
By Geoffrey Chaucer,
A dream vision portraying a parliament for birds to choose their maids.
Honoring the first anniversary of the engagement of 15-year-old King Richard II of England to 15-year-old Anne of Bohemia,
Chaucer wrote,
For this was on St.
Valentine's Day,
When every bird comes there to choose his match,
Of every kind that men may think of,
And that so huge a noise they began to make,
The earth and air and tree and every lake was so full that not easily was there space for me to stand,
So full was all the place.
Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14th as Valentine's Day.
Henry Onsgar Kelly has observed that Chaucer might have had in mind the feast day of St.
Valentine of Genoa,
An early bishop of Genoa who died around 8307.
It was probably celebrated on the 3rd of May,
A treaty providing for Richard II and Anne's marriage.
The subject of the poem was signed on 2 May 1381.
Jack B.
Orich notes that the date in which spring begins has changed since Chaucer's time because of the precessions of the equinoxes and the introduction of the more accurate Gregorian calendar only in 1582.
On the Julian calendar in use in Chaucer's time,
February 14th would have fallen on the date now called February 23rd,
A time when some birds have started mating and nesting in England.
Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls refers to a supposedly established tradition,
But there is no record of such a tradition before Chaucer.
The speculative derivation of sentimental customs from the distant past began with 18th-century antiquaries,
Notably Alban Butler,
The author of Butler's Lives of Saints,
And have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars.
Most notably,
The idea that Valentine's Day customs perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated in various forms up to the present.
Three other authors who made poems about birds mating on St.
Valentine's Day around the same years—Otton de Granson from Savoy,
John Gower from England,
And a knight called Pardo from Valencia—Chaucer most probably predated all of them.
But due to the difficulty of dating medieval works,
It is not possible to ascertain which of the four may have influenced the others.
The earliest description of February 14th as an annual celebration of love appears in the Charter of the Court of Love.
The Charter,
Allegedly issued by Charles VI of France at Montez-la-Jolie in 1400,
Describes lavish festivities to be attended by several members of the royal court,
Including a feast,
Amorous song and poetry competitions,
Jousting,
And dancing.
At these festivities,
The attending ladies would hear and rule on disputes from lovers.
No other record of the court exists,
And none of those named in the Charter were present at Montez except Charles's queen,
Isabeau of Bavaria,
Who may well have imagined it all while waiting out a plague.
The earliest surviving Valentine is a 15th-century rondo written by Charles,
Duke of Orléans,
To his wife.
At the time,
The duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt,
1415.
The earliest surviving Valentines in English appear to be those in the Paston Letters,
Written in 1477 by Marjorie Brewers to her future husband John Paston,
My right well-beloved Valentine.
Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Tomorrow is St.
Valentine's Day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window to be your valentine.
Then up he rose and donned his clothes,
And up'st the chamber door,
Letting the maid that out a maid never departed more.
John Donne used the legend of the marriage of the birds as a starting point for his Epithalamion,
Celebrating the marriage of Elizabeth,
Daughter of James I of England,
And Frederick V,
Elector Palantine,
On Valentine's Day.
The verse,
Roses are red,
Echoes conventions traceable as far back as Edmund Spencer's epic,
The Fair Queen,
1590.
She bathed with roses red and violets blue,
And all the sweetest flowers that in the forest grew.
The modern cliché Valentine's Day poem can be found in Gammer Gurdon's Garland,
1784,
A collection of English nursery rhymes published in London by Joseph Johnson.
The roses red,
The violets blue,
The honey's sweet,
And so are you.
Thou art my love,
And I am thine.
I drew thee to my valentine,
The lot was cast,
And then I drew,
And fortune said it should be you.
In 1797,
A British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer,
Which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover,
Unable to compose his own.
Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches,
Called mechanical valentines.
Paper valentines became so popular in England in the early 19th century that they were assembled in factories.
Fancy valentines were made with real lace and ribbons,
With paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century.
In 1835,
60,
000 valentine cards were sent by post in the United Kingdom,
Despite postage being expensive.
A reduction in postal rates following Sir Rowland Hill's postal reforms with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp,
Penny Black,
Saw the number of valentines posted increase,
With 400,
000 sent just one year after its invention,
And ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing valentines.
That made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously,
Which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian.
Production increased.
Cupid's Manufactory,
As Charles Dickens termed it,
With over 3,
000 women employed in manufacturing.
The Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University gathers 450 valentine's day cards dating from early 19th century Britain,
Printed by the major publishers of the day.
The collection appears in Seddon's book,
Victorian Valentines,
1996.
In the United States,
The first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland of Worcester,
Massachusetts.
Her father operated a large book and stationery store,
But Howland took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received from a business associate of her father.
Intrigued with the idea of making similar valentines,
Howland began her business by importing paper lace and floral decorations from England.
A writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849,
St.
Valentine's Day is becoming,
Nay it is become,
A national holiday.
The English practice of sending valentines cards was established enough to feature as a plot device in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr.
Harrison's Confessions,
1851.
I burst in with my explanations.
The valentine I know nothing about.
It is in your handwriting,
Said he coldly.
Since 2001,
The Greeting Card Association has been given an annual Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary.
Since the 19th century,
Handmade cards have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
In the UK,
Just under half of the population spend money on their valentines,
And around £1.
9 billion was spent in 2015 on cards,
Flowers,
Chocolates,
And other gifts.
The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the US to follow.
In 1868,
The British chocolate company Cadbury created Fancy Boxes,
A decorated box of chocolates in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day.
Boxes of filled chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday.
In the second half of the 20th century,
The practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts,
Such as giving jewelry.
The US Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US.
Half of those valentines are given to family members,
Other than husband or wife,
Usually to children.
When the valentine exchange cards made in school activities are included,
The figure goes up to one billion,
And teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.
The average valentine spending has increased every year in the US,
From $108 a person in 2010 to $131 in 2013.
The rise of internet popularity at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions.
Millions of people use,
Every year,
Digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages,
Such as e-cards,
Love coupons,
Or printable greeting cards.
Valentine's Day is considered by some to be a hallmark holiday due to its commercialization.
In the modern era,
Liturgically,
The Lutheran Church and England Church have a service for St.
Valentine's Day,
The Feast of St.
Valentine,
Which includes the optional rite of the renewal of marriage vows.
In 2016,
The Catholic bishops of England and Wales established a novena prayer to support single people seeking a spouse ahead of Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day customs,
Sending greeting cards known as valentines,
Offering confectionery and presenting flowers,
Developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century.
In the later 20th and early 21st centuries,
These customs spread to other countries,
Like those of Halloween or aspects of Christmas,
Such as Santa Claus.
Valentine's Day is celebrated in many East Asian countries,
With Singaporeans,
Chinese,
And South Koreans spending the most money on Valentine's gifts.
In most Latin American countries,
For example Costa Rica,
Mexico,
And the U.
S.
Territory of Puerto Rico,
St.
Valentine's Day is known as Día de los Enamorados,
Day of Lovers,
Or as Día del Amor y la Amistad,
Day of Love and Friendship.
It is also common to see people perform acts of appreciation for their friends.
In Guatemala,
It is known as Día del Cariño,
Affection Day.
Some countries,
In particular the Dominican Republic and El Salvador,
Have a tradition called Amigo Secreto,
Secret Friend,
Which is a game similar to the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa.
In Brazil,
The Día dos Namorados,
Literally Lover's Day or Boyfriend's Girlfriend's Day,
Is celebrated on June 12th,
Probably because that is the day before St.
Anthony's Day,
Known there as the Marriage Saint,
When traditionally many single women perform popular rituals called simpáceos.
In order to find a good husband or boyfriend,
Couples exchange gifts,
Chocolates,
Cards,
And flower bouquets.
The February 14th,
Valentine's Day,
Is not celebrated at all because it is usually too close to Brazilian Carnival,
Which can fall anywhere from early February to early March and lasts almost a week.
Colombia celebrates Día del Amor y la Amistad on the third Saturday in September instead.
Amigo Secreto is also popular there.
On the United States mainland,
About 190 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year,
Not including the hundreds of millions of cards school children exchange.
Valentine's Day is a major source of economic activity,
With total expenditures in 2017 topping $18.
2 billion,
Or over $136 per person.
This is an increase from $108 per person in 2010.
In 2019,
A survey by the National Retail Federation found that over the previous decade,
The percentage of people who celebrate Valentine's Day had declined steadily.
From their survey results,
They found three primary reasons.
Over-commercialization of the holiday,
Not having a significant other,
And not being interested in celebrating it.
In Finland,
Valentine's Day is called Friends' Day.
As the name indicates,
This day is more about remembering friends,
Not significant others.
In Estonia,
Valentine's Day was originally called Friends' Day,
As a culk of the Finnish term.
In France,
A traditionally Catholic country,
Valentine's Day is known simply as Saint Valentine,
And is celebrated in much of the same way as other Western countries.
The relics of Saint Valentine de Terny,
The patron of Saint Valentine's Day,
Are in the Catholic Church of Saint Jean Baptiste and Saint Jean l'Evangéliste,
Located in a southern France town.
The celebration of Fête des Amoureux takes place every two years on the Sunday closest to February 14th.
The village gets dressed in its 19th-century costume and put on the program with over 800 people.
Saint Valentine's Day in Greek tradition was not associated with romantic love.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church,
There is another saint who protects people who are in love,
Hyacinth or Caesarea,
But this was not widely known until the late 1990s.
In contemporary Greece,
Valentine's Day is generally celebrated as in the common Western tradition.
On Saint Valentine's Day in Ireland,
Many individuals who seek true love make a Christian pilgrimage to the Shrine of Saint Valentine and Whitefriar Street Carmelide Church in Dublin,
Which is said to house relics of Saint Valentine of Rome.
They pray at the shrine in hope of finding romance.
There lies a book in which foreigners and locals have written their prayer requests for love.
Saint Valentine's Day was introduced to Poland together with the Cult of Saint Valentine via Bavaria and Tyrol.
However,
It rose in popularity in the 1990s.
The only and the biggest public celebration in Poland is held annually from 2002 in Chelmno under the name Chelmno Valentines.
As Chelmno's parish church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been holding the relic of Saint Valentine since the Middle Ages,
Local Cult of the Saint has been combined with the Anglo-Saxon tradition.
In Portugal,
The holiday is known as Dia dos Namorados,
Lover's Day,
Day of the Enamored.
As elsewhere,
Couples exchange gifts,
But in some regions women give a linço de namorados,
Or lover's handkerchief,
Which is usually embroidered with love motifs.
In recent years,
Romania has also started celebrating Valentine's Day.
This has drawn backlash from several groups,
Institutions,
And nationalist organizations like NUODRAPT,
Who condemn Valentine's Day for being superficial,
Commercialist,
And imported Western kitsch.
In order to counter the perceived denaturation of national culture,
Dragobeta,
A spring festival celebrated in parts of southern Romania,
Has been rekindled after having been ignored during the communist years as the traditional Romanian holiday for lovers.
The holiday is named after a character from Romanian folklore who was supposed to be the son of Baba Duce.
Its date used to vary depending on the geographical area,
However nowadays it is commonly observed on February 24th.
In Denmark and Norway,
February 14th is known as Valentinsdag and is celebrated in much the same manner as in the United Kingdom.
In Sweden,
It is called Alla Hjortensdag,
All Hearts Day,
But is not widely celebrated.
A 2016 survey revealed that less than 50% of men and women were planning to buy presents for their partners.
The holiday has only been observed since the 1960s.
The holiday was first introduced in Spain through a 1948 advertisement campaign by the department store chain Calerías Preciados,
And had become widespread by the 1970s.
Known as San Valentín,
The holiday is celebrated the same way as in the rest of the West.
In the UK,
Just under half of the population spends money on their Valentines,
And around 1.
3 billion pounds is spent yearly on cards,
Flowers,
Chocolates,
And other gifts,
With an estimated 25 million cards being sent.
In Wales,
Some people celebrate Díos Sáintes Dúenain on January 25th instead of,
Or as well as,
Valentines Day.
The day commemorates Saint Dúenain,
The Welsh patron saint of love.
The Welsh name for Saint Valentine is Sant Folland.
In a 2016 poll conducted by Channel 4 for Valentines Day,
Jane Austen's line,
My heart is,
And always will be,
Yours,
From her novel Sense and Sensibility,
As said by Edward Farris,
Hugh Grant,
To Eleanor Dashwood,
Emma Thompson,
In the acclaimed 1995 film adaptation,
Was voted the most romantic line from literature,
Film,
And TV by thousands of women.
