Why do people celebrate valentines day

Valentine's Day , merging the two holidays. Because the holiday came to be associated with the marriage rituals of Ancient Rome, it's believed that this is when the holiday took on a romantic meaning—but it wasn't celebrated with cards and gifts until almost 1, years later.

In the early s, Valentine's Day cards began to be mass-produced in Britain and the United States, and in the early s, the Hallmark company was founded.

People often refer to Valentine's Day as a "Hallmark holiday," and there's some truth behind the nickname; the Hallmark company was actually instrumental in creating the holiday we know and love today. They created some of the first affordable Valentine's Day cards in the United States, and as the mail system became more efficient and less expensive, people began sending cards—which eventually led to sending flowers, gifts, and other items as well.

And while we certainly still do send greeting cards to celebrate these are our favorite funny Valentine's Day cards , it's now customary to share flowers, chocolates, candy, and gifts on the holiday as well. That's a lot of heart-shaped chocolate boxes! So as you choose your card and gift this year, remember the sentiment of the very first valentine written by St.

Valentine himself—while gifts are a popular choice, a love note to your special someone can be just as meaningful. By Emily VanSchmus January 11, Cards would usually contain sentimental verse, proclaiming the beauty of the receiver and how much they were loved.

Saint Valentine's Day cards were decorated with pictures of cupid, hearts and flowers and trimmed with lace and ribbon. These images are still used today to symbolise love and are recognised all over the world. While Valentine's Day is celebrated in most countries, different cultures have developed their own traditions for this festival.

In some parts of the world Valentine's Day is observed as a day for expressing love between family members and friends, rather than that of romantic couples.

Some traditions include leaving lollies and gifts for children and others include acts of appreciation between friends. Valentine's Day is most commonly associated with romantic love, with millions of Valentine's Day cards being exchanged each year. Gifts of flowers or a single red rose are sent with romantic messages to loved ones and couples spend special time together.

Many couples choose to celebrate Valentine's Day with dinner, a picnic or special home-cooked meal. Well, apparently that, comes from good marketing. Richard Cadbury started designing ornate boxes for his chocolates to come in, including a heart shaped one that may have changed the industry forever. Gaby has been a news producer since In Ancient Greece, people observed a mid-winter celebration for the marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera.

Some historians wonder if these traditions may have influenced the way we now celebrate February Not much, it turns out. Saint Valentine's Day was a feast day in the Catholic religion, added to the liturgical calendar around AD. Thanks, Pope Gelasius! The day was commemorated for martyred saints named—you guessed it—Valentine.

Differing legends celebrate three different saints called Valentine or Valentinus, but since very little was known about these men and there were conflicting reports of the Saint Valentine Day story, the feast day was removed from the Christian liturgical calendar in But even though not much is known about the real history of the Saint Valentines on whom the holiday is based, the legend of Saint Valentine has several tellings.

Prior to his death, he was able to miraculously heal the daughter of his jailer, who then converted to Christianity along with his family. Another legend says a bishop called Saint Valentine of Terni is the true namesake of the holiday; this Saint Valentine was also executed.

But according to others—and this is how Saint Valentine became affiliated with a love-focused holiday—Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, because of an Roman emperor edict decreeing married soldiers did not make good warriors and thus young men could not marry.