Every year, on February 14th, humans celebrate Valentine’s Day. In a recent survey conducted in the United States, about 50 percent of young people say they hate Valentine’s Day. 20 percent say they don’t care about it, and another 20 percent say they wish it didn’t exist! Only 10 percent of the 1000 + youths between the ages of 18 and 25 said they are excited about Valentine’s Day.
So what’s the story behind Valentine’s Day? Valentine is the name of a Saint and the day is about celebrating romantic relationships. In addition to romantic relationships, the day is used to celebrate family bonds and friendships in some cultures. But where did it all start, where is it now, and where is it going?
First of all, we should know that the name “Valentine” comes from the Latin word “valentinus” which means “worthy, strong or powerful.” The St. Valentine of Rome which we celebrate on Valentine’s Day was a Roman Catholic Saint who died around 270 A.D. However, the idea of Valentine’s Day is thought to have been invented by English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem “Parliament of Fowls” around the year 1375.
Parliament of Fowls – a Poem by Geoffrey Chaucer.
A garden saw I, full of blossomy boughs
Upon a river, in a green mead,
There as sweetness evermore enough is,
With flowers white, blue, yellow, and red,
And cold well-streams, nothing dead,
That swimming full of small fishes light,
With fins red and scales silver bright.
On every bough the birds heard I sing,
With voice of angels in their harmony;
Some busied themselves birds forth to bring;
The little coneys to here play did hie.
And further all about I could see
The dread filled roe, the buck, the hart and hind,
Squirrels, and beasts small of gentle kind.
Of instruments of strings in accord
Heard I so play a ravishing sweetness,
That God, that maker is of all and lord,
Had heard never better, as I guess.
Therewith a wind, scarcely it might be less,
Made in the leaves green a noise soft
Accordant to the fowls’ song aloft.
Th’air of that place so a-temperate was
That never was grievance of hot nor cold.
There wax also every wholesome spice and grass;
No man may there wax sick nor old;
Yet was there joy more a thousandfold
Than man can tell; never would it be night,
But always clear day to any man’s sight.
The truth is, there were so many Saint Valentines throughout the history of Christianity that no one is absolutely sure which one the day is named after. Today, Valentine’s Day is more a commercial activity promoted by companies to drive sales of romantic products and services. Other than that, a very small percentage of the population find the tradition convenient or interesting.
