February starts
and suddenly the city starts to get romantic. Hearts decorating dressers,
balloons and roses in stores, the
color red everywhere, dazed eyes, bright smiles; Valentine's
Day is approaching. But as all this,
who this Valentine? Why February 14th is
a special day of love? Who came up? Well,
here's the story.
Although there is a clear debate among historians about the identity of Valentine, the best
known version is that it was a
famous priest who lived in Rome and was executed on the
orders of Emperor Claudius II
on February 14, 270 AD. At that time the Roman Empire was in decline and increasing
the armed forces was the main task. So the emperor
created a law that prohibited marriage
for young soldiers, as it was felt that married
life decreased their skills
in combat and courage.
Valentine began performing
Christian marriages clandestinely
until it was discovered and captured.
According to historical documents,
the holy met Claudio
II and they entered into a discussion about religion. As much as he was threatened with death, Valentine never
recanted their beliefs so
eventually he was beheaded.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the rise of courtly
love, which is treated as the
previous code of
romance with couples
relate today, Valentine
became an increasingly important subjects, mainly in France and England.
In the 19th century the custom of Valentine's Day immigrated
to America via the US as a woman the first to see in this tradition an excellent business opportunity. In 1847 Esther Howland began
selling the "valentines"
greeting cards commemorating the day of love and friendship.
From the eighties, the festival began expanding its horizons to increasingly sophisticated gifts, starting with flowers
and chocolates to reach adorable diamonds. Today,
according to the Greeting Card Association, each year sold about one billion
cards, which are acquired by 85 percent by women.
Although in 1969 the
Vatican withdrew February 14
the Catholic calendar as the official
celebration of Saint Valentine, considering that knew too little about his life and miracles, the reality is that the character's popularity has increased over the years. And the Valentine has
ceased to be a religious event
to become a fundamental element of popular culture.