Origins of Saint Valentine's Day

Before he died, Valentine restored the sight of his jailer's daughter. This led to a mass conversion of the daughter's large family, including family servants. On the eve of Valentine's execution, he had delivered to the daughter a card signed "Your Valentine". The gesture caught the public's imaginations, which have passed down the story one generation to the next. The complimentary close, "Your Valentine", turned into the commercial message, "From Your Valentine".

Towards the end of the 18th century, a compendium of love sentiments called "The Young Man's Valentine Writer" helped young swains impress their ladyloves with flowery verses. Soon, forerunners to the greeting-card industry began printing paper valentines, replete with Victorian lace and ribbons.

By the 1800s, personalized cards yielded to mass-marketing of Valentine cards by greeting-card companies. Since the 1950s, sentiments of love have expanded to red roses, chocolates, and jewelry. Growing use of e-cards in the last decade has added another channel of revenue, with approximately 15 million e-valentines sent electronically in 2010.

Reply to this article  (1)

Read more: Valentine's Day, Valentine Day Tips, Haitian Society

« Valentine's Day Tips | Main | Valentine's Day Greeting »

Return to Articles List

All Comments (1)

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.