On February 14th, friends, partners, and singletons come together to celebrate Valentine’s Day. But who really knows the origins of Valentine’s Day or why we celebrate it? This day of love started with a forbidden romance, or should I say multiple forbidden romances. In the third century Rome, Emperor Claudius ll outlawed marriage for young men so that the army would be filled with more dispensable soldiers. Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, married young couples in secret for the sake of love. The emperor later beheaded him, but his legacy lived on in our everyday lives.
While imprisoned, Valentine fell in love with the jail keeper’s daughter and often wrote her letters signed “From your Valentine,” (History A&E). This phrase is still used today in letters and stories as an allusion to the origins of Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is filled with traditions and allusions to its origins and has many different cultures included. Some people think the holiday began with Lupercalia, the pagan celebration of fertility, and the Roman god of agriculture, Faunus. Women put their names in a communal urn, and the bachelors take a name and pair up, and the couple usually ends in marriage. With the rise of Christianity, the day was outlawed until Pope Gelasius declared February 14th the day of love. Cupid is another tradition incorporated from a different culture, Roman and Greek culture specifically. Eros, the Greek god of love and desire, was often portrayed with golden arrows to trick gods into falling in love with ordinary women to create demigods. In the Hellenistic period, he started being portrayed as a cherub with his Roman name Cupid.
Not only do most people create plans for Valentine’s Day, but they give gifts and cards. By the mid-18th century, Valentine’s Day became popular, and it became common for people to exchange handwritten cards in the 1900s, people exchanged new and improved printed cards called. Valentines. Gifts became more popular with inflation in the economy, and presents became more common than homemade gifts. If you’re looking to give that special someone in your life a gift, look for something like candy, jewelry, flowers, and stuffed animals.
On to our next segment, some fun things to do for Valentine’s Day. If you are into Galentines; a modified Valentine’s Day typically for single girls, try a local cafe, park, or movie. Some cafes in San Diego that have festive Valentine’s Day decor include Barbarella in La Jolla, The Pink Rose Cafe in La Mesa, and Coco Maya in Little Italy. If you’re looking for a couple of activities, I recommend a sunset picnic, paint and sip (juice), even the San Diego City College Planetarium and the San Diego Air & Space Museum hosted a Valentine’s Day “Stellar Love Stories” event with myths and stories told under the night sky.
Although being single on Valentine’s Day can sound a bit depressing, there are many fun things you can do for yourself. You can join some good friends for a movie day and relax, go out for a spa day, or go out of town! Although Valentine’s Day may typically be for couples, its true origins label it as a day of love, so try to focus on the love this Valentine’s Day!
