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VALENTINE'S DAY LEGENDS AND ODDITIES
Cupid
Cupid is known as a winged mischievous child whose arrows
when shot and pierced the hearts of his victims would cause them to fall deeply in love. In ancient times in Greece he was
known as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Romans he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.
Valentine's Day
People in many different countries celebrate
Valentine's Day. Each year on February 14, friends, family and lovers exchange candy, flowers, love notes and Greeting Cards.
these gifts are used as special messages of friendship and love. This tradition, as we know it today, has grown from two basic
roots. One being the Roman festival of Lupercalia and the sad story of a Christian doctor named Valentine.
Saint Valentines
Valentine was a Christian doctor who lived in
ancient Rome. The Roman Emperor Claudius did not like his religious beliefs, so he sent him to jail to be killed. In jail,
Valentine made friends with the jailer's daughter. On February 14, before he was killed, he sent a special note of friendship
to the girl. He signed it "From Your Valentine." This may have been the world's first Valentine's greeting.
Lupercalia Festival
Lupercalia Festival honored the ancient Roman
gods. When the Christians became more powerful in Rome they wanted the people to stop the Lupercalia Festival but the people
loved the festival and did not want to end it. So, the Christian leaders encouraged people to honor St. Valentine at the festival
as he was viewed as a hero of their Christian religion. Since then, the traditions of Valentine's Day have changed and grown,
but millions of people still take part in this old celebration of love and friendship
Valentine's Cards
Valentine's greetings were popular as far back
as the middle ages, when lovers said or sang their Valentines. Written Valentines began to appear after 1400 and the oldest
Valentine in existence is in the British Museum. Paper Valentine's Day Cards like the ones Caddylak Graffix publishes and sells were exchanged in Europe
where they were given in place of Valentine gifts. In the early 1800's, Valentines were beginning to be made in factories
and by the end of the 1800's they were made entirely by machine. In the early 1870's, Esther Howland, an American printer
and artist was among the first to publish and sell Valentines in the United States. American exchange more Valentine's Day Cards than any other cards except for Christmas Cards.
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