As a culture, we are introduced and inculcated with the idea of Valentine’s Day during our kindergarten year. It is further cemented into our yearly calendar through the exchange of Valentine's cards with peers. This continues until middle school, when we realize the true impact of a Valentine's card exchange. The cards dwindle from 40 in the earlier years, to just a few or perhaps one. It is at this stage in life that we start to notice the opposite sex and the ideal of the red heart; it is the giving of one’s emotional heart to another. This becomes tricky business, and quite serious. The adult version of Valentine’s Day begins to blossom, including the selection of many mass produced gift ideas.
According to, History.com a whopping 150 million cards are exchanged, making Valentine’s Day the second most popular card-sending holiday, after Christmas. This holiday of love is big business for retailers, and the consumer has bought into this tradition.
What about the history of Valentine’s Day? Let us take a moment to review the past, to better understand this evolution of consumerism for a day that is all about love. This immensely popular day began with the Romans and the Catholic Church. It originally was celebrated on February 15th by the Romans as early as A.D. 270. It later was changed by the Catholic Church to February 14th. The Romans celebrated it as a fertility holiday. The two versions of Valentine’s Day involve the Pagan via the Roman celebration, and the Christian that included saints and martyrs, one namely Valentine.
The Christian version is laced with saints, be-headings and Chaucer. Some believe that he, Chaucer, invented Valentine’s Day; his poem, "Parliament of Foules" , was the first written words to bring together Valentines and love.
Either story, of this celebrated day, concluded it as a day for the exchange of love. The evolution from the personal showing of affections alluded to the giving of handwritten notes, beginning in the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the 20th century that cards came into prominence. We can be thankful and relieved that the modern version of celebration is less harmful, unless we chance to overindulge in chocolates and spirits.
As I was researching the history of this day, I learned that over the many hundreds of years, the celebration has been popularized and commercial. The day has evolved into an opportunity for consumerism on a large scale. Retail prices elevate for this holiday. Products that are generally reasonable to purchase at any other time of year, increase in price for one day. It has changed from a personal sharing of love to the 100 percent inclusion of the mass producers of product. Marketing has expanded their role and become a third-party participant in the love business. Commercialism and the push for consumerism may not be the original intent when this day was conceived.
Even though I enjoy all the Valentine-laden goods that appear this time of year, I long for the personal approach to celebrating love. As we approach this day, I hope whatever manner you celebrate, the sharing of love is the main staple for a successful outcome. Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
