Valentine’s Day just passed, on February 14th. Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated all over the world, but do you know the meaning of this holiday?
Valentine’s Day originated from the Catholic Saint Valentinus, who was a priest in Ancient Rome. Even though Valentinus came from the Catholic Saint, Valentinus is believed to be Christian. The first year that Valentine’s Day was celebrated was in 496 A.D., to honor Rome. There were strict laws on marriage and Valentine continued to marry young lovers in secret so they could be truly happy. When Valentine was discovered, he was murdered. Another legend is Valentine helped Christians escape cruel Roman prisons where Valentine was imprisoned himself and sent his first “Valentine” to a young girl he fell in love with.
While some argue that Valentine’s Day is important to honor your loved ones, is it? Valentine’s Day is just a normal day for most people but some see it as a day to treat your partner like royalty but there shouldn’t be a specific day to treat your partner well. Your relationship should be secure without a day to romanticize it. Yet Valentine’s Day can be fun for people who enjoy doing things with their lovers but there shouldn’t be a separate day to do things for them.
Valentine’s Day in modern times is seen as a romantic day for couples. A day to celebrate and declare your love to a significant other. Many people buy chocolate, flowers, and stuffed animals for their significant others. Spending quality time with their significant others is usually spent on Valentine’s Day. Significant others spend time on passionate dates that make couples feel special for a day, like watching a movie or going to a romantic restaurant. Many couples sit around enjoying the quality of each other. Valentine’s Day is fun for younger kids as well. Kids around the age of 4-10 usually buy store-bought cards or draw their cards with sentimental or funny sentences and cute images. Along with the cards, kids give a few pieces of candy. The most popular candies are chocolates, heart-shaped lollipops, and Sweethearts (hearts with little quotes like “I ♡ U” or “Be Mine”.)
A common symbol for Valentine’s Day is Cupid, but why is a little boy with an arrow a love symbol? This baby with an arrow was believed to have a greater power than any god. Cupid originated in Greek mythology, where whatever this baby wants will happen, disaster or not. Cupid has been traced back to 700 B.C. but named Eros, Aphrodite’s son, Aphrodite is the goddess of love. Eros would use his power to create chaos and trick people into loving one another. Eros was also believed to be a kid or teenager. Even though Cupid is now the idea of a cute little boy helping people fall in love, Eros would use manipulation powers as a threat that would lead to tragedy. However, people realized his mother was much more powerful, therefore Eros became less of a threat to people. Personally, this is a very weird concept for a day about love, and time with loved ones because this is a baby running around threatening people with his arrow.
In conclusion, Valentine’s Day is a holiday that many people celebrate but not many people know why it’s a holiday, there are many theories and fun things about Valentine’s Day, and now you know why and how Valentine’s Day came about!
