Last week, we prepped you for Valentine’s Day gift-giving with a short primer on the secret language of flowers. This week, let’s talk about why we give those gifts in the first place.
In the modern era, Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love. It’s now a holiday full of hearts, happiness, crushes, and Cupid, but it didn’t start out this way.
The origins of Valentine’s Day are connected to the Roman feast of Lupercalia, a fertility festival held in honor of Lupa, a wolf figure prominent in ancient Roman folklore. These festivities were also dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
Celebrations were rife with debauchery that included public drunkenness, nudity in the streets, and fertility rituals involving animal blood. Couples were sometimes matched by drawing names from a jar.
While these fertility traditions persisted for hundreds of years, eventually the holiday sweetened. Rituals gave way to romance. Playwrights such as Shakespeare connected Valentine’s Day and love in the public consciousness, while handmade cards became all the rage. In 1913, Hallmark Cards began to mass produce valentines, ushering in a new tradition available to everyone.
Chocolate also plays a big role in the celebration of love on Valentine’s Day. According to the National Confectioners Association, about 80 percent of Americans give sweets to their sweet, usually in heart-shape boxes. If you like your edible Valentine’s gifts to be a bit more personalized, think about making one of these decadent chocolate desserts—cheesecake, brownies, cookies, and more!
Did you know that chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac? Find out which foods can provide a little pick-me-up!
If you haven’t found your true love yet, check out these “surefire” folklore techniques for finding the love of your life. Spoiler alert: Sense of humor required!
Speaking of having a sense of humor, check out these pickup lines. They are all guaranteed to work—except when they don’t, of course!
Whether you’ve already walked down the aisle, never have any intention to, or are still waiting for The Right One, test your marriage IQ!
Finally, if you’re like most Americans, you’ll have an extra day to rest up after Valentine’s Day thanks to George Washington! While this holiday—celebrated on February 15 in 2021—is commonly called Presidents’ Day, the federal designation for it is “Washington’s Birthday,” in honor of our first president. The day is one of 11 permanent holidays established by Congress. |
As sure as the Sun will rise and set each day, The Old Farmer’s Almanac is here for you, now and always.
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