By Leanna Kodiak
Valentine's Day. What even is Valentine's Day? There are people who love the Day of Love and believe it’s a necessary day of expressing one's affections; and then, many people hate it or think it's unnecessary, a trick to weasel money out of people by pulling at their heartstrings. Valentine's Day, special or not, is February 14th, with different meanings, stories, and perspectives surrounding it. To help us better understand this day, we need to ask: How did Valentine's Day come about?
The first Valentine’s Day was in the year 496! Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or The Feast of Saint Valentine, is the day when people show their love and affection to one another, when spring comes along, or when Jack Valentine brings gifts to all the children.
The story of Valentine’s Day was during the 3rd century AD. The day got its name from a famous saint, although there are many stories on who he was, this is the most popular (according to the BBC):
“Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine felt this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret. When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown in jail and sentenced to death. There, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February, he sent her a love letter signed "from your Valentine."
Valentine's Day originated from a Roman Festival called Lupercalia in the middle of February, a day of exceptional wildness. In addition to some chaotic, R-rated material, some aspects of the celebration were that boys and girls would draw names from a box, they would become a couple during the festival, and sometimes would get married.
There are many traditions of Valentine’s Day, the one we are more custom too is sending cards, flowers, notes, chocolates, or candies, but there are more. Did you know in Norfolk, a character called ‘Jack’ Valentine knocks on the rear door of houses, leaving sweets and presents for children. Although he was leaving treats, many children were scared of this mystical person. Also in Slovenia, Saint Valentine's Day is one of the saints of spring; they believe Saint Valentine brings the key of roots. It’s also said that birds propose to each other or marry on that day. For the last several hundred years, people tend to send one another love letters, the first of which dates back to 1477:
Roughly translated (according to the British Library), the letter reads:
"Describing John as her 'right well-beloved valentine', she tells him she is 'not in good health of body nor of heart, nor shall I be till I hear from you.' She explains that her mother had tried to persuade her father to increase her dowry – so far unsuccessfully. However, she says, if John loves her he will marry her anyway: 'But if you love me, as I trust verily that you do, you will not leave me therefore.' There was a happy ending to the story, as the couple would eventually marry."
There are also many symbols of Valentine’s Day. Some different items mean different things and that’s the reason they are used for Valentine’s Day. Like roses: there are many different colors of roses, but all together roses show beauty, passion, and love. A rose simply says, “I Love You.” But do you know what the different colors of roses mean? A red rose shows love and passion, a yellow rose shows friendship, a white rose shows true love and purity of the mind, while a pink rose shows friendship or is synonymous with "sweetheart." Hearts symbolize love, they show how you’re handing your existence to the person you love. While a heart with an arrow through it shows how they are taking a risk of being hurt or rejected, they are standing in front you while being vulnerable, showing every ounce of love. Lastly, love knots symbolizes how the love will never end, how it has no beginning nor end.
So what are people’s opinions on Valentine's Day? Does this Holiday really mean something to them? Interviewing a few people, different ages and gender, they explain what they really think about Valentine's Day and if they think people do too much, too little, or just enough to celebrate Valentine's Day.
John Creech, a freshmen math teacher at Logan County High School States, “Valentine’s Day: it’s a great holiday to express feelings when you do have a significant other, but not perhaps the best holiday if you don’t. Valentine’s Day means a lot to my wife and I as it was the day we found out our baby was a little girl! People probably do too much to try and make up for not doing much the rest of the year.”
Seth Burchett, a sophomore at Logan County High School States, “Valentine’s Day is great for couples but not single people. It doesn’t really mean much to me and I feel people just do what their significant other and themselves are comfortable with.”
Faith Crafton, a sophomore at Logan County High School, states, “Valentine’s Day is a great day to celebrate and spend time with the people you love. It means a lot to me because i get to spend time with the people I love and I feel people do just enough on Valentines Day.”
Most everyone has a different opinion of Valentine's Day. Some people take Valentine’s Day seriously while others explain how it doesn’t really mean much to them, as though it is just another day.
In conclusion, Valentine’s Day has been around for quite a bit of time and is a day that has many different meanings, ideas, and focal points, as well as several legends, traditions, and symbols. Depending on your opinion of Valentine’s Day, it may be a great day to expression the love you have for a lovely person; or maybe it is the most miserable day of the year. But for most of us here at LCHS, the truth may fall somewhere in between.
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