Typically cynical towards the 'Hallmark' holiday I decided to do some investigating into the history of Valentine's Day in an attempt to give it some validity.Originally named after a couple early Christian martyrs but not an official christian holiday it was Chaucer's era in the High Middle Ages who were responsible for developing February 14th into a recognized holiday. Predominantly celebrated in western culture Valentine's Day celebrated a tradition of courtly love in its early days. The exchange of valentines were meant to be a mutual exchange of love notes and in the 18th century an Ester Howland developed a business of selling handmade valentine cards. By the 19th century the card tradition has blossomed and been exported to North America. Today the Greeting Card Association estimates 1 billion cards are exchanged every Valentine's Day.
I guess I'll concede that there is some romantic history to Valentine's Day and though the holiday is far too commercial for my liking it is a nice excuse to show some love!
I agree - way to commercialized for my liking, I dont care much for the historical back ground, in my opinion its just another Hallmark Holiday!
ReplyDeleteI like Hallmark Holidays...good commercials...overpriced and overrated candy and gifts...what's not to like. Plus there's always the post valentines/Xmas/Halloween candy sales where they unload all their holiday themed stuff for next to nothing
ReplyDelete-Dave
At what point in history DID Hallmark come along and buy up this holiday anyway?
ReplyDelete