VALENTINE’S DAY Over The Years

PRISHA MODY, staff writer

Valentine’s day: the day of love. It’s a unique day that many people look forward to every year and has evolved considerably from its origins. St. Valentine sent the first “valentine” to a girl he loved while confined in a jail cell and signed the letter “from your Valentine.’’ This started the tradition of signing letters and notes with “from your Valentine.” The first signs of this holiday were seen in Rome. Each February, boys would draw the names of girls and the pair would stay together during these festive times. Sometimes, they would even end up getting married. As time progressed, so did the traditions. During the Middle Ages, people started making handmade cards with sweet romantic poems inside which would be given to their lover or friend. Also, during the Middle Ages, in South Africa, young girls started wearing hearts on their sleeves with their secret sweetheart’s name. In the early 1700s, people began exchanging handmade cards and small gifts that showed their affection. Places all over the world had unique and different traditions that evolved over time. In Denmark, white flowers called snowdrops were pressed inside book pages and given to lovers as well as friends. However, as time passed, these traditions seemed to disappear. With the growth of factories and machines, many things started to appear in stores and the idea of handmade items seemed to lose meaning. Starting in the 1800s, mass production of Valentine’s day cards became common, with a variety of styles made with lace and ribbons. As the economy grew and the world became more and more industrialized, the holiday became more commercialized. It lost the special touch that many people wished for. It became very easy to go out and buy a card instead of spending time making one by hand. In the United States of America, around 145 million cards are exchanged every February. This makes Valentine’s day the second biggest holiday for exchanging cards, after Christmas. There are over 22 billion dollars spent on this holiday. This includes buying chocolates, jewelry and other gifts to show love and appreciation for friends and lovers. However, some traditions still stand, with most couples buying flowers like red roses for each other to rep- resent their love. This tradition has stayed consistent all the way from the 17th century, with different flowers having special meanings. Red roses became very famous due to their association with deep love. This day of love has undergone significant changes from the start of the holiday to modern times. In spite of the fact that there are still many traditions in place, it has become increasingly apparent that the holiday season is now more about shopping for gifts as opposed to making homemade gifts that fall in line with past traditions.