Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Hellen Sallee
Hellen Sallee is the manager of In the Garden Floral & Design, with 29 years experience in the floral industry. She has numerous awards & recognition in state & national competitions in creativity & design. Her focus is serving the community with the latest design using the best products in fresh flowers at an economical price.
Flowers & Plants
2012-01-26 15:11:30
The traditions of Valentine' Day...how did they evolve?
Q: Across the U.S., every February 14th we celebrate our love with candy, gifts and flowers in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and how did these traditions evolve?
A: There are actually several legends attributed to the origin of the day. The catholic church recognizes three saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred, presumably in the name of love. One legend contends that a roman priest in the third century named Valentine defied the orders of Emperor Claudius and continued to perform the marriages of young men whom the emperor wanted to remain single and fit for battle. Another tradition holds that Valentine may have been tortured for helping Christians escape persecution. Many believe that the tradition started as a way to honor and mark the day of Valentine’s death. This may be the origin of the tradition of using flowers to express love on this day, as those honoring Valentine’s death would have used flowers to mark the day. Others hold that Valentines Day grew from a Roman fertility festival, which was celebrated on the ides of February, or February 15th. While the exact beginning of the holiday is difficult to trace, it is possible to trace the modern celebration of the day. For example, the oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois. Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection and to use flowers (which each had a special meaning attributed them by kind and color) to convey love and messages in accordance with the era’s propriety. For example, red roses would convey a deep love, while lilac roses say the sender has fallen deeply in love at first sight. It was even possible to send more complete messages by using a combination of different flowers. Today we have many ways of expressing our love, still, nothing sends a message of love better or more memorably than flowers.
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates