día de San Valentín | |
---|---|
También llamado | San Valentín o la fiesta de San Valentín |
Observado por | Personas en muchos países; Comunión Anglicana (ver calendario ) Iglesia Luterana (ver calendario ) |
Escribe | Observancia cristiana, romántica, cultural, comercial |
Significado | Fiesta de San Valentín ; la celebración del amor y el cariño |
Celebraciones | Envío de tarjetas de felicitación y regalos, citas, servicios religiosos, novenas. |
Fecha |
|
Frecuencia | Anual |
Parte de una serie sobre |
Amor |
---|
El Día de San Valentín , también llamado Día de San Valentín o Fiesta de San Valentín , [1] se celebra anualmente el 14 de febrero. [2] Se originó como una fiesta cristiana en honor a uno o dos de los primeros mártires cristianos llamados San Valentín y, a través de folk posteriores. tradiciones, se ha convertido en una importante celebración cultural, religiosa y comercial del romance y el amor en muchas regiones del mundo. [3]
Hay una serie de historias de martirio asociadas con varios Valentines relacionados con el 14 de febrero, [4] incluyendo un relato del encarcelamiento de San Valentín de Roma por ministrar a los cristianos perseguidos bajo el Imperio Romano en el siglo III. [5] [6] Según una antigua tradición, San Valentín devolvió la vista a la hija ciega de su carcelero. [7] Numerosas adiciones posteriores a la leyenda la han relacionado mejor con el tema del amor: un adorno de la leyenda del siglo XVIII afirma que le escribió a la hija del carcelero una carta firmada "Tu Valentín" como despedida antes de su ejecución; [8]otra adición postula que San Valentín realizaba bodas para soldados cristianos a quienes se les prohibió casarse. [6]
La fiesta de San Valentín fue establecida por el Papa Gelasio I en el 496 d. C. para ser celebrada el 14 de febrero en honor a San Valentín de Roma, quien murió en esa fecha en el 269 d. C. [9] [10] El día se asoció con el amor romántico. en los siglos XIV y XV, cuando florecieron las nociones de amor cortés , aparentemente por asociación con los " tortolitos " de principios de la primavera. En la Inglaterra del siglo XVIII, se convirtió en una ocasión en la que las parejas expresaban su amor entre sí al regalar flores, ofrecer dulces y enviar tarjetas de felicitación (conocidas como "valentines"). Los símbolos del Día de San Valentín que se utilizan hoy en día incluyen el contorno en forma de corazón, palomas y la figura del Cupido alado.. Desde el siglo XIX, las tarjetas de San Valentín escritas a mano han dado paso a las tarjetas de felicitación producidas en masa. [11] En Italia, las llaves de San Valentín se entregan a los amantes "como un símbolo romántico y una invitación para abrir el corazón del donante", así como a los niños para prevenir la epilepsia (llamada Enfermedad de San Valentín). [12]
El día de San Valentín no es un día festivo en ningún país, aunque es un día festivo oficial en la Comunión Anglicana [13] y en la Iglesia Luterana. [14] Muchas partes de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Oriental también celebran el Día de San Valentín el 6 de julio en honor al presbítero romano San Valentín, y el 30 de julio en honor a Hieromartyr Valentine, el obispo de Interamna (actual Terni ). [15]
Numerosos mártires cristianos primitivos fueron nombrados Valentine . [16] Los Valentines honrados el 14 de febrero son Valentine de Roma ( Valentinus presb. M. Romae ) y Valentine de Terni ( Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae ). [17] Valentine de Roma fue un sacerdote en Roma que fue martirizado en 269 y fue agregado al calendario de los santos por el Papa Gelasio I en 496 y fue enterrado en la Via Flaminia . Las reliquias de San Valentín se guardaron en la Iglesia y Catacumbas de San Valentino en Roma, que "siguió siendo un importante lugar de peregrinación durante la Edad Media hasta que las reliquias de San Valentín fueron trasladadas a la iglesia deSanta Prassede durante el pontificado de Nicolás IV ". [18] [19] El cráneo coronado de flores de San Valentín se exhibe en la Basílica de Santa María en Cosmedin , Roma. Otras reliquias se encuentran en la Iglesia Carmelita de Whitefriar Street en Dublín, Irlanda . [20]
Valentine de Terni se convirtió en obispo de Interamna (ahora Terni , en el centro de Italia) y se dice que fue martirizado durante la persecución del emperador Aureliano en 273. Está enterrado en la Via Flaminia, pero en un lugar diferente al de Valentine de Roma. Sus reliquias se encuentran en la Basílica de San Valentín en Terni ( Basilica di San Valentino ). El profesor Jack B. Oruch de la Universidad de Kansas señala que "había resúmenes de los actos de los dos santos en casi todas las iglesias y monasterios de Europa". [21] La Enciclopedia Católica también habla de un tercer santo llamado Valentine que fue mencionado en los primeros martirologios.con fecha de 14 de febrero. Fue martirizado en África con varios compañeros, pero no se sabe nada más de él. [22] Una reliquia que se decía que era la cabeza de San Valentín de Terni se conservó en la abadía de New Minster, Winchester , y fue venerada. [23]
El 14 de febrero se celebra como el Día de San Valentín en varias denominaciones cristianas ; tiene, por ejemplo, el rango de "conmemoración" en el calendario de los santos en la Comunión Anglicana . [13] Además, la fiesta de San Valentín también figura en el calendario de los santos de la Iglesia luterana . [14] Sin embargo, en la revisión de 1969 del Calendario de los Santos Católico Romano , la fiesta de San Valentín el 14 de febrero fue eliminada del Calendario Romano General.y relegado a calendarios particulares (locales o incluso nacionales) por la siguiente razón: "Aunque el memorial de San Valentín es antiguo, se deja para calendarios particulares, ya que, aparte de su nombre, nada se sabe de San Valentín excepto que fue enterrado en la Via Flaminia el 14 de febrero ". [24]
El día de la fiesta todavía se celebra en Balzan ( Malta ), donde se dice que se encuentran las reliquias del santo, y también en todo el mundo por los católicos tradicionalistas que siguen el calendario anterior al Concilio Vaticano II más antiguo (ver Calendario General Romano de 1960 ).
En la Iglesia Ortodoxa Oriental , se reconoce a San Valentín el 6 de julio , en el que se honra a San Valentín , el presbítero romano; Además, la Iglesia Ortodoxa Oriental observa la fiesta de Hieromartyr Valentine, obispo de Interamna, el 30 de julio . [25] [26] [27]
J.C. Cooper, in The Dictionary of Christianity, writes that Saint Valentine was "a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians."[28] Contemporary records of Saint Valentine were most probably destroyed during this Diocletianic Persecution in the early 4th century.[29] In the 5th or 6th century, a work called Passio Marii et Marthae published a story of martyrdom for Saint Valentine of Rome, perhaps by borrowing tortures that happened to other saints, as was usual in the literature of that period. The same events are also found in Bede's Martyrology, which was compiled in the 8th century.[29][30] It states that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing Julia, the blind daughter of his jailer Asterius. The jailer's daughter and his forty-six member household (family members and servants) came to believe in Jesus and were baptized.[31][29]
A later Passio repeated the legend, adding that Pope Julius I built a church over his sepulchre (it is a confusion with a 4th-century tribune called Valentino who donated land to build a church at a time when Julius was a Pope).[30] The legend was picked up as fact by later martyrologies, starting with Bede's martyrology in the 8th century.[30] It was repeated in the 13th century, in The Golden Legend.[32]
There is an additional embellishment to The Golden Legend, which according to Henry Ansgar Kelly, was added in the 18th century and widely repeated.[33] On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he is supposed to have written the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to the daughter of his jailer Asterius, who was no longer blind, signing as "Your Valentine."[33] The expression "From your Valentine" was later adopted by modern Valentine letters.[34] This legend has been published by both American Greetings and The History Channel.[35]
John Foxe, an English historian, as well as the Order of Carmelites, state that Saint Valentine was buried in the Church of Praxedes in Rome, located near the cemetery of Saint Hippolytus. This order says that according to legend, "Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship."[36][37]
Another embellishment suggests that Saint Valentine performed clandestine Christian weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry.[38] The Roman Emperor Claudius II supposedly forbade this in order to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers.[38][39] However, George Monger writes that this marriage ban was never issued and that Claudius II told his soldiers to take two or three women for themselves after his victory over the Goths.[40]
According to legend, in order "to remind these men of their vows and God's love, Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment", giving them to these soldiers and persecuted Christians, a possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on St. Valentine's Day.[41]
Saint Valentine supposedly wore a purple amethyst ring, customarily worn on the hands of Christian bishops with an image of Cupid engraved in it, a recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire;[39][42] Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform marriage for them.[39] Probably due to the association with Saint Valentine, amethyst has become the birthstone of February, which is thought to attract love.[43]
While the European folk traditions connected with Saint Valentine and St. Valentine's Day have become marginalized by the modern Anglo-American customs connecting the day with romantic love, there are some remaining associations connecting the saint with the advent of spring.
While the custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts originated in the UK, Valentine's Day still remains connected with various regional customs in England. 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.[44][45]
In Slovenia, Saint Valentine or Zdravko was one of the saints of spring, the saint of good health and the patron of beekeepers and pilgrims.[46]A proverb says that "Saint Valentine brings the keys of roots". Plants and flowers start to grow on this day. It has been celebrated as the day when the first work in the vineyards and in the fields commences. It is also said that birds propose to each other or marry on that day. Another proverb says "Valentin – prvi spomladin" ("Valentine – the first spring saint"), as in some places (especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring.[47] Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day, or February 22, Saint Vincent's Day. The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13.[46]
No evidence has been demonstrated to link St. Valentine's Day and the rites of the ancient Roman purification festival of Lupercalia, despite persistent and sometimes detailed claims by many authors to the contrary, nor to any otherwise unspecified Greco-Roman holiday supposed to have celebrated love or fertility.[notes 1][23][48][49] The celebration of Saint Valentine is not known to have had any romantic connotations until Chaucer's poetry about "Valentine's Day" in the 14th century, some seven hundred years after celebration of Lupercalia is believed to have ceased.[29]
In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia was observed February 13–15. It was a rite connected to purification and health, and had only slight connection to fertility (as a part of health) and none to love. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier" or "the chaste Juno", was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) abolished Lupercalia. Some researchers have theorized that Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with the celebration of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and claim a connection to the 14th century's connotations of romantic love, but there is no historical indication that he ever intended such a thing.[notes 2][49][50] Also, the dates do not fit because at the time of Gelasius I, the feast was only celebrated in Jerusalem, and it was on February 14 only because Jerusalem placed the Nativity of Jesus (Christmas) on January 6.[notes 3] Although it was called "Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary", it also dealt with the presentation of Jesus at the temple.[51] Jerusalem's Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary on February 14 became the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple on February 2 as it was introduced to Rome and other places in the sixth century, after Gelasius I's time.[51]
Alban Butler in his Lifes of the Principal Saints (1756–1759) claimed without proof that men and women in Lupercalia drew names from a jar to make couples, and that modern Valentine's letters originated from this custom. In reality, this practice originated in the Middle Ages, with no link to Lupercalia, with men drawing the names of girls at random to couple with them. This custom was combated by priests, for example by Frances de Sales around 1600, apparently by replacing it with a religious custom of girls drawing the names of apostles from the altar. However, this religious custom is recorded as soon as the 13th century in the life of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, so it could have a different origin.[23]
The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is believed to be in the Parliament of Fowls (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer, a dream vision portraying a parliament for birds to choose their mates.[29] Honoring the first anniversary of the engagement of fifteen-year-old King Richard II of England to fifteen-year-old Anne of Bohemia,[52] Chaucer wrote (in Middle English):
"For this was on seynt Valentynes day
Whan every foul cometh there to chese his make
Of every kynde that men thynke may
And that so huge a noyse gan they make
That erthe, and eyr, and tre, and every lake
So ful was, that unethe was there space
For me to stonde, so ful was al the place."[53][54]
In modern English:
"For this was on Saint Valentine's Day
When every bird comes there to choose his match
Of every kind that men may think of
And that so huge a noise they began to make
That earth and air and tree and every lake
Was so full, that not easily was there space
For me to stand—so full was all the place."
Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day. Henry Ansgar Kelly has observed that Chaucer might have had in mind the feast day of St. Valentine of Genoa, an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307; it was probably celebrated on 3 May.[52][55][56] A treaty providing for Richard II and Anne's marriage, the subject of the poem, was signed on May 2, 1381.[57]
Jack B. Oruch notes that the date on which spring begins has changed since Chaucer's time because of the precession of the equinoxes and the introduction of the more accurate Gregorian calendar only in 1582. On the Julian calendar in use in Chaucer's time, February 14 would have fallen on the date now called February 23, a time when some birds have started mating and nesting in England.[29]
Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls refers to a supposedly established tradition, but there is no record of such a tradition before Chaucer. The speculative derivation of sentimental customs from the distant past began with 18th-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars. Most notably, "the idea that Valentine's Day customs perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated, in various forms, up to the present".[23][58]
Three other authors who made poems about birds mating on St. Valentine's Day around the same years: Otton de Grandson from Savoy, John Gower from England, and a knight called Pardo from Valencia. Chaucer most probably predated all of them; but due to the difficulty of dating medieval works, it is not possible to ascertain which of the four may have influenced the others.[59]
The earliest description of February 14 as an annual celebration of love appears in the Charter of the Court of Love. The charter, allegedly issued by Charles VI of France at Mantes-la-Jolie in 1400, describes lavish festivities to be attended by several members of the royal court, including a feast, amorous song and poetry competitions, jousting and dancing.[60] Amid these festivities, the attending ladies would hear and rule on disputes from lovers.[61] No other record of the court exists, and none of those named in the charter were present at Mantes except Charles's queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, who may well have imagined it all while waiting out a plague.[60]
The earliest surviving valentine is a 15th-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orléans to his wife, which commences.
"Je suis desja d'amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée..."— Charles d'Orléans, Rondeau VI, lines 1–2[62]
At the time, the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt, 1415.[63]
The earliest surviving valentines in English appear to be those in the Paston Letters, written in 1477 by Margery Brewes to her future husband John Paston "my right well-beloved Valentine".[64]
Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet (1600–1601):
"To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more."— William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5
John Donne used the legend of the marriage of the birds as the starting point for his epithalamion celebrating the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, and Frederick V, Elector Palatine, on Valentine's Day:
"Hayle Bishop Valentine whose day this is
All the Ayre is thy Diocese
And all the chirping Queristers
And other birds ar thy parishioners
Thou marryest every yeare
The Lyrick Lark, and the graue whispering Doue,
The Sparrow that neglects his life for loue,
The houshold bird with the redd stomacher
Thou makst the Blackbird speede as soone,
As doth the Goldfinch, or the Halcyon
The Husband Cock lookes out and soone is spedd
And meets his wife, which brings her feather-bed.
This day more cheerfully than ever shineThis day which might inflame thy selfe old Valentine."
— John Donne, Epithalamion Vpon Frederick Count Palatine and the Lady Elizabeth marryed on St. Valentines day
The verse "Roses are red" echoes conventions traceable as far back as Edmund Spenser's epic The Faerie Queene (1590):
"She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,
And all the sweetest flowres [sic], that in the forrest grew."[65]
The modern cliché Valentine's Day poem can be found in the collection of English nursery rhymes Gammer Gurton's Garland (1784):
"The rose is red, the violet's blue,
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,And Fortune said it shou'd be you."[66][67]
In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called "mechanical valentines." Paper Valentines became so popular in England in the early 19th century that they were assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century.[68] In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in the United Kingdom, despite postage being expensive.[69]
A reduction in postal rates following Sir Rowland Hill's postal reforms with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp (Penny Black) saw the number of Valentines posted increase, with 400,000 sent just one year after its invention, and ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing Valentines.[70] That made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian.[71] Production increased, "Cupid's Manufactory" as Charles Dickens termed it, with over 3,000 women employed in manufacturing.[70] The Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University gathers 450 Valentine's Day cards dating from early nineteenth century Britain, printed by the major publishers of the day.[72] The collection appears in Seddon's book Victorian Valentines (1996).[73]
In the United States, the first mass-produced Valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828–1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.[74][75] Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English Valentine she had received from a business associate of her father.[76][77] Intrigued with the idea of making similar Valentines, Howland began her business by importing paper lace and floral decorations from England.[77][78] A writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day ... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."[79] The English practice of sending Valentine's cards was established enough to feature as a plot device in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (1851): "I burst in with my explanations: 'The valentine I know nothing about.' 'It is in your handwriting', said he coldly."[80] Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".[75]
Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.[11] In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines, and around £1.9 billion was spent in 2015 on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts.[81] The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the U.S. to follow.[82]
In 1868, the British chocolate company Cadbury created Fancy Boxes – a decorated box of chocolates – in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day.[83][84] Boxes of filled chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday.[83] In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts, such as giving jewelry.
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities are included the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.[74] The average valentine's spending has increased every year in the U.S, from $108 a person in 2010 to $131 in 2013.[85]
The rise of Internet popularity at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions. Millions of people use, every year, digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as e-cards, love coupons or printable greeting cards. An estimated 15 million e-valentines were sent in 2010.[74] Valentine's Day is considered by some to be a Hallmark holiday due to its commercialization.[86]
In the modern era, liturgically, the Lutheran Church and Anglican Church have a service for St. Valentine's Day (the Feast of St. Valentine), which includes the optional rite of the renewal of marriage vows.[87][88] In 2016, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales established a novena prayer "to support single people seeking a spouse ahead of St Valentine's Day."[89]
Valentine's Day customs – sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"), offering confectionary and presenting flowers – developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century. In the later 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs spread to other countries, like those of Halloween, or than aspects of Christmas, (such as Santa Claus).
Valentine's Day is celebrated in many East Asian countries with Singaporeans, Chinese and South Koreans spending the most money on Valentine's gifts.[90]
In most Latin American countries, for example, Costa Rica,[91] Mexico,[92] and Puerto Rico, Saint Valentine's Day is known as Día de los Enamorados ('Day of Lovers')[93] or as Día del Amor y la Amistad ('Day of Love and Friendship'). It is also common to see people perform "acts of appreciation" for their friends.[94]
In Guatemala it is known as Día del Cariño ('Affection Day').[95] Some countries, in particular the Dominican Republic and El Salvador,[96] have a tradition called Amigo secreto ("Secret friend"), which is a game similar to the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa.[94]
In Brazil, the Dia dos Namorados (lit. "Lovers' Day", or "Boyfriends'/Girlfriends' Day") is celebrated on June 12, probably because that is the day before Saint Anthony's day, known there as the 'marriage saint',[97] when traditionally many single women perform popular rituals, called simpatias, in order to find a good husband or boyfriend. Couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards, and flower bouquets. The February 14 Valentine's Day is not celebrated at all because it usually falls too little before or too little after the Brazilian Carnival[98] – that can fall anywhere from early February to early March and lasts almost a week. Because of the absence of Valentine's Day and due to the celebrations of the Carnivals, Brazil was recommended by U.S. News & World Report as a tourist destination during February for Western singles who want to get away from the holiday.[99]
Colombia celebrates Día del amor y la amistad on the third Saturday in September instead.[100] Amigo Secreto is also popular there.[101]
In the United States, about 190 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year, not including the hundreds of millions of cards school children exchange.[102]
Valentine's Day is a major source of economic activity, with total expenditures in 2017 topping $18.2 billion in 2017, or over $136 per person.[103] This is an increase from $108 per person in 2010.[85]
In the Afghan tradition, love is often expressed through poetry. Some new generation budding poets like Ramin Mazhar, Mahtab Sahel are expressing themselves through poetry using Valentine's Day expressing concerns on any likelihood of erosion of freedoms. In their political comment they defy fear by saying 'I kiss you amid the Taliban'[104]
Valentine's Day was first celebrated in Bangladesh by Shafik Rehman, a journalist and editor of Jaijaidin in 1993. He was acquainted with Western culture by studying in London.[105] He highlighted Valentine's Day to the Bangladeshi people through Jaijaidin newspaper. Rehman is called the "father of Valentine's Day in Bangladesh".[106] On this day, people in various bonds including lovers, friends, husbands and wives, mothers and children, students and teachers express their love for each other with flowers, chocolates, cards and other gifts. On this day, various parks and recreation centers of the country are full of people of love.[107][108] No public holiday is declared on this day in Bangladesh.
Some in Bangladesh feel that celebrating this day is not acceptable from a cultural and Islamic point of view.[109] Before the celebration of Valentine's Day, February 14 was celebrated as the anti-authoritarian day in Bangladesh. However, that day is forgotten by people to celebrate Valentine's Day.[110][111][112]
In Chinese, Valentine's Day is called lovers' festival (simplified Chinese: 情人节; traditional Chinese: 情人節; Mandarin: Qīng Rén Jié; Hokkien: Chêng Lîn Chiat; Cantonese: Chìhng Yàhn Jit; Shanghainese Xin Yin Jiq). The "Chinese Valentine's Day" is the Qixi Festival (meaning "The Night of Sevens" (Chinese: 七夕; pinyin: Qi Xi)), celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. According to the legend, the Cowherd star and the Weaver Maid star are normally separated by the Milky Way (silvery river) but are allowed to meet by crossing it on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.[113]
In recent years, celebrating White Day has also become fashionable among some young people.[114]
In India, in antiquity, there was a tradition of adoring Kamadeva, the lord of love; exemplificated by the erotic carvings in the Khajuraho Group of Monuments and by the writing of the Kamasutra.[115] This tradition was lost around the Middle Ages, when Kamadeva was no longer celebrated, and public displays of sexual affection became frowned upon.[115] This repression of public affections began to loosen in the 1990s.[116]
Valentine's Day celebrations did not catch on in India until around 1992. It was spread due to the programs in commercial TV channels, such as MTV, dedicated radio programs, and love letter competitions, in addition to an economical liberalization that allowed the explosion of the valentine card industry.[115][117] The celebration has caused a sharp change on how people have been displaying their affection in public since the Middle Ages.[115]
When we give attention to Valentine's Day we find that 68%, including Hindu,[118] Muslim[119] and Christian of people of India do not support of Valentine's Day.[120]
In modern times, Hindu and Islamic[121] traditionalists have considered the holiday to be cultural contamination from the West, a result of globalization in India.[115][117] Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar have asked their followers to shun the holiday and the "public admission of love" because of them being "alien to Indian culture".[122] Although these protests are organized by political elites, the protesters themselves are middle-class Hindu men who fear that the globalization will destroy the traditions in their society: arranged marriages, Hindu joint families, full-time mothers, etc.[117][121] Despite these obstacles, Valentine's Day is becoming increasingly popular in India.[123]
Valentine's Day has been strongly criticized from a postcolonial perspective by intellectuals from the Indian left. The holiday is regarded as a front for "Western imperialism", "neocolonialism", and "the exploitation of working classes through commercialism by multinational corporations".[124] It is claimed that as a result of Valentine's Day, the working classes and rural poor become more disconnected socially, politically, and geographically from the hegemonic capitalist power structure. They also criticize mainstream media attacks on Indians opposed to Valentine's Day as a form of demonization that is designed and derived to further the Valentine's Day agenda.[125][126]Right wing Hindu nationalists are also hostile. In February 2012, Subash Chouhan of the Bajrang Dal warned couples that "They cannot kiss or hug in public places. Our activists will beat them up".[127]He said "We are not against love, but we criticize vulgar exhibition of love at public places".[128]
Iranians, particularly in cities, have become familiar with Valentine's Day for over a decade and during this short time, it has become popular among the youth and also some elders. In the 2010s, the celebration of Valentine's Day became common in wealthy families and then spread among other levels of society.[129] Specialists in the country say that banning Valentine's Day would encourage the youth more towards it.[130] Although Valentine's Day is not accepted/approved by any institution or rule in the country and has no official status, it is highly accepted among a large part of the population.[131] One of the reasons for Valentine's Day breaking out into the general population in Iran is the change in relations between the sexes, which are no longer bound to marriage for two decades.[129]
In the first part of the 21st century, the celebration of Valentine's Day in Iran has been harshly criticized by Islamic teachers who see the celebrations as opposed to Islamic culture. In 2011, the Iranian printing works owners' union issued a directive banning the printing and distribution of any goods promoting the holiday, including cards, gifts, and teddy bears. "Printing and producing any goods related to this day including posters, boxes and cards emblazoned with hearts or half-hearts, red roses and any activities promoting this day are banned ... Outlets that violate this will be legally dealt with", the union warned.[132][133]
In 2016, local media reported that police had informed coffee shops and ice cream parlours in Tehran that they would be guilty of committing a crime if they encouraged "decadent Western culture through Valentine's Day rituals".[134] Under Iran's Islamic law, unmarried couples are not allowed to mingle. That is why each year the printing works owners’ union issues an instruction on the ban of Valentine's Day, imposed by Iranian authorities which denies them from selling gifts such as cards, and boxes with the symbols of hearts and red roses.[135] Iran says it is cracking down on Valentine's Day celebrations and shops engaging in them will be guilty of a crime.[136] In recent years Iranian authorities have forbidden Valentine's celebrations, calling the holiday a “decadent Western custom” and threatening shops and restaurants with prosecution if they sell Valentine's Day gifts.[137]
In Iran, the Sepandarmazgan, or Esfandegan, is a festival where people express love towards their mothers and wives, and it is also a celebration of earth in ancient Persian culture. It has been progressively forgotten in favor of the Western celebration of Valentine's Day. The Association of Iran's Cultural and Natural Phenomena has been trying since 2006 to make Sepandarmazgan a national holiday on February 17, in order to replace the Western holiday.[138]
In Israel, the Jewish tradition of Tu B'Av has been revived and transformed into the Jewish equivalent of Valentine's Day. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Av (usually in late August). In ancient times girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyards, where the boys would be waiting for them (Mishna Taanith end of Chapter 4). Today, Tu B'Av is celebrated as a second holiday of love by secular people (along with Valentine's Day), and it shares many of the customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day in western societies. In modern Israeli culture Tu B'Av is a popular day to proclaim love, propose marriage, and give gifts like cards or flowers.[139]
In Japan, Morozoff Ltd. introduced the holiday for the first time in 1936, when it ran an advertisement aimed at foreigners. Later, in 1953, it began promoting the giving of heart-shaped chocolates; other Japanese confectionery companies followed suit thereafter. In 1958, the Isetan department store ran a "Valentine sale". Further campaigns during the 1960s popularized the custom.[140][141]
The custom that only women give chocolates to men may have originated from the translation error of a chocolate-company executive during the initial campaigns.[142] In particular, office ladies give chocolate to their co-workers. Unlike western countries, gifts such as greeting cards,[142] candies, flowers, or dinner dates[143] are uncommon, and most of the gifts-related activity is about giving the right amount of chocolate to each person.[142] Japanese chocolate companies make half their annual sales during this time of the year.[142]
Many women feel obliged to give chocolates to all male co-workers, except when the day falls on a Sunday, a holiday. This is known as giri-choko (義理チョコ), from 'giri' ("obligation") and 'choko', ("chocolate"), with unpopular co-workers receiving only "ultra-obligatory" ('chō-giri choko') cheap chocolate. This contrasts with honmei-choko (本命チョコ, lit. "true feeling chocolate"), chocolate given to a loved one. Friends, especially girls, may exchange chocolate referred to as tomo-choko (友チョコ, from 'tomo' meaning "friend").[144]
In the 1980s, the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association launched a successful campaign to make March 14 a "reply day", where men are expected to return the favour to those who gave them chocolates on Valentine's Day, calling it White Day for the color of the chocolates being offered. A previous failed attempt to popularize this celebration had been done by a marshmallow manufacturer who wanted men to return marshmallows to women.[140][141]
In Japan, the romantic "date night" associated to Valentine's Day is celebrated on Christmas Eve.[145]
Saint Valentine is the patron saint for a large part of the Lebanese population. Couples take the opportunity of Valentine's feast day to exchange sweet words and gifts as proof of love. Such gifts typically include boxes of chocolates, cupcakes, and red roses, which are considered the emblem of sacrifice and passion.[citation needed]
Lebanese people celebrate Valentine's Day in a different way in every city. In Beirut, men take women out to dine and may buy them a gift. Many women are asked to marry on that day. In Sidon, Valentine's Day is celebrated with the whole family – it is more about family love than a couple's love.[citation needed]
Islamic officials in West Malaysia warned Muslims against celebrating Valentine's Day, linking it with vice activities. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the celebration of romantic love was "not suitable" for Muslims. Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz, head of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which oversees the country's Islamic policies said that a fatwa (ruling) issued by the country's top clerics in 2005 noted that the day 'is associated with elements of Christianity,' and 'we just cannot get involved with other religions' worshipping rituals.' Jakim officials planned to carry out a nationwide campaign called "Awas Jerat Valentine's Day" ("Mind the Valentine's Day Trap"), aimed at preventing Muslims from celebrating the day on February 14, 2011. Activities include conducting raids in hotels to stop young couples from having unlawful sex and distributing leaflets to Muslim university students warning them against the day.[146][147]
On Valentine's Day 2011, West Malaysian religious authorities arrested more than 100 Muslim couples concerning the celebration ban. Some of them would be charged in the Shariah Court for defying the department's ban against the celebration of Valentine's Day.[148]
In East Malaysia, the celebration are much more tolerated among young Muslim couples although some Islamic officials and Muslim activists from the West side have told younger generations to refrain from such celebration by organising da'wah and tried to spread their ban into the East.[149][150] In both the states of Sabah and Sarawak, the celebration is usually common with flowers.[151][152][153]
The concept of Valentine's Day was introduced into Pakistan during the late 1990s with special TV and radio programs. The Jamaat-e-Islami political party has called for the banning of Valentine's Day celebration.[123] Despite this, the celebration is becoming popular among urban youth and the florists expect to sell a great amount of flowers, especially red roses. The case is the same with card publishers.[154]
In 2016, local governing body of Peshwar officially banned the celebration of Valentine's Day in the city. The ban was also implemented in other cities such as Kohat by the local governments.[155]
In 2017, the Islamabad High Court banned Valentine's Day celebrations in public places in Pakistan.[156]
In the Philippines, Valentine's Day is called Araw ng mga Puso in much the same manner as in the West. It is usually marked by a steep increase in the price of flowers, particularly red roses.[157] It is the most popular day for weddings,[158] with some localities offering mass ceremonies for no charge.[159]
In Saudi Arabia, in 2002 and 2008, religious police banned the sale of all Valentine's Day items, telling shop workers to remove any red items, because the day is considered a Christian holiday.[160][161] This ban has created a black market for roses and wrapping paper.[161][162] In 2012, the religious police arrested more than 140 Muslims for celebrating the holiday, and confiscated all red roses from flower shops.[163] Muslims are not allowed to celebrate the holiday, and non-Muslims can celebrate only behind closed doors.[164]
"Saudi cleric Sheikh Muhammad Al-'Arifi said on Valentine's Day Eve that celebrating this holiday constitutes bid'a – a forbidden innovation and deviation from religious law and custom – and mimicry of the West."[165][166]
However, in 2017 and 2018, after a fatwa was widely circulated, the religious police did not prevent Muslims from celebrating the day.[167]
According to findings, Singaporeans are among the biggest spenders on Valentine's Day, with 60% of Singaporeans indicating that they would spend between $100 and $500 during the season leading up to the holiday.[90]
In South Korea, women give chocolate to men on February 14, and men give non-chocolate candy to women on March 14 (White Day). On April 14 (Black Day), those who did not receive anything on February or March 14 go to a Chinese-Korean restaurant to eat black noodles (짜장면 jajangmyeon) and lament their 'single life'.[143] Koreans also celebrate Pepero Day on November 11, when young couples give each other Pepero cookies. The date '11/11' is intended to resemble the long shape of the cookie. The 14th of every month marks a love-related day in Korea, although most of them are obscure. From January to December: Candle Day, Valentine's Day, White Day, Black Day, Rose Day, Kiss Day, Silver Day, Green Day, Music Day, Wine Day, Movie Day, and Hug Day.[168] Korean women give a much higher amount of chocolate than Japanese women.[143]
In Taiwan, traditional Qixi Festival, Valentine's Day and White Day are all celebrated. However, the situation is the reverse of Japan's. Men give gifts to women on Valentine's Day, and women return them on White Day.[143]
In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines and around £1.3 billion is spent yearly on cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent.[169]
In Wales, some people celebrate Dydd Santes Dwynwen (St. Dwynwen's Day) on January 25 instead of (or as well as) Valentine's Day. The day commemorates St Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of love.[170] The Welsh name for Saint Valentine is Sant Ffolant.
In a 2016 poll conducted by Channel 4 for Valentine's Day, Jane Austen’s line, “My heart is, and always will be, yours”, from her novel Sense and Sensibility and said by Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) to Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson) in the acclaimed 1995 film adaptation, was voted the most romantic line from literature, film and TV by thousands of women.[171]
On Saint Valentine's Day in Ireland, many individuals who seek true love make a Christian pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, which is said to house relics of Saint Valentine of Rome; they pray at the shrine in hope of finding romance.[172] There lies a book in which foreigners and locals have written their prayer requests for love.[173]
In Finland, Valentine's Day is called ystävänpäivä, which means "Friend's Day". As the name indicates, this day is more about remembering friends, not significant others. In Estonia, Valentine's Day was originally called valentinipäev and later also sõbrapäev ('Friend's Day') as a calque of the Finnish term.[174]
In France, a traditionally Catholic country, Valentine's Day is known simply as "Saint Valentin", and is celebrated in much the same way as other western countries.[175] The relics of Saint Valentin de Terni, the patron of the St Valentine's Day, are in the Catholic church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Saint-Jean-l’Evangéliste located in the southern France town of Roquemaure, Gard. The celebrations of "Fête des Amoureux" takes place every two years on the Sunday closest to February 14. The village gets dressed in its 19th-century costume and put on the program with over 800 people.
St. Valentine's Day, or Ημέρα του Αγίου Βαλεντίνου in Greek tradition was not associated with romantic love. In the Eastern Orthodox church there is another Saint who protects people who are in love, Hyacinth of Caesarea (feast day July 3), but this was not widely known until the late 1990s[176] In contemporary Greece, Valentine's Day is generally celebrated as in the common Western tradition.[177]
Saint Valentine's Day was introduced to Poland together with the cult of Saint Valentine via Bavaria and Tyrol.[178] However, it rose in popularity only in the 1990s.[178] The only (and the biggest) public celebration in Poland is held annually from 2002 in Chełmno[178] under the name „Walentynki Chełmińskie” (Chełmno Valentine's). Because Chełmno's parish church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been holding the relic of St. Valentine since the Middle Ages, local cult of the saint has been combined with the Anglo-Saxon tradition.[178]
In Portugal, the holiday is known as "Dia dos Namorados" (Lover's Day / Day of the Enamoured). As elsewhere, couples exchange gifts, but in some regions, women give a lenço de namorados ("lovers' handkerchief"), which is usually embroidered with love motifs.[179]
In recent years, Romania has also started celebrating Valentine's Day. This has drawn backlash from several groups, institutions,[180] and nationalist organizations like Noua Dreaptǎ, who condemn Valentine's Day for being superficial, commercialist, and imported Western kitsch. In order to counter the perceived denaturation of national culture, Dragobete, a spring festival celebrated in parts of Southern Romania, has been rekindled after having been ignored during the Communist years as the traditional Romanian holiday for lovers. The holiday is named after a character from Romanian folklore who was supposed to be the son of Baba Dochia.[181] Its date used to vary depending on the geographical area, however nowadays it is commonly observed on February 24.[182]
In Denmark and Norway, February 14 is known as Valentinsdag, and it is celebrated in much the same manner as in the United Kingdom.[183] In Sweden it is called Alla hjärtans dag ("All Hearts' Day") but is not widely celebrated. A 2016 survey revealed that less than 50% of men and women were planning to buy presents for their partners.[184] The holiday has only been observed since the 1960s.[183]
In Spain, Valentine's Day is known as "San Valentín" and is celebrated the same way as in the rest of the West.
Many films have been produced depicting various aspects of Valentine's Day, including A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002).
Pakistan is the latest country to ban Valentine's Day celebrations in public spaces after the country's High Court passed a ruling. Before that, officials and clerics in Indonesia have banned and rejected the idea of Valentine's Day saying they it is not part of Islamic culture. Protestors holding boards saying “Muslims say no to Happy Valentine’s Day” held rallies in four cities in Indonesia.[109] Since 2009, certain practices pertaining to Valentine's Day (such as giving flowers, cards, or other gifts suggestive of Valentine's Day) are banned in Iran.[185] Law Enforcement Force fight with distributors of goods with symbols associated with Valentine's Day.[186] In 2021, prosecution of Qom declared that it will fight with those who disseminate and provide anti-cultural symbols like those of Valentine's Day.[187] Although Valentine's Day is not accepted/approved by any institution or rule in the country and has no official status, it's highly accepted among a large part of the population.[188] One of the reasons for Valentine's Day breaking out into the general population in Iran is the change in relations between the sexes, which are no longer bound to marriage for two decades.[189]
The association between Valentine and lovers derives from a legend associated with Valentine of Rome. Emperor Claudius II wanted to recruit soldiers for the Roman army, and prohibited young men from marrying, in case homesickness for wives, homes and families should impair their military prowess. He also opposed the Christian faith, encouraging its persecution. Valentine, a physician priest, offered help to Christians whose lives were in peril and, although celibate himself, performed secret marriage rites for young men and women, defying the emperor's decree. He was discovered and imprisoned.
February 14 Valentine, Martyr at Rome, c.269
St. Valentine, laying his hand upon her eyes, said in prayer, "O Thou who art the true Light, give light to this Thy servant." Instantly sight was restored to the blind child. Asterius and his wife, falling at the feet of Valentine, prayed that they might be admitted into the Christian fellowship; whereupon St. Valentine commanded them to break their idols, to fast for three days, to forgive their enemies, and to be baptized. Asterius and his wife did all the saint told them to do, and Valentine baptized them and all their household, to the number of forty-six in all. —Les Petits Bollandistes, vol. ii. pp. 510, 511.
When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270. Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."
It appears as the birthstone from February probably due to its association with Saint Valentine; therefore, amethyst has often been worn to attract love.
There is no indication in suppressing the Lupercalia, Gelasius put anything else in its place. Much later, in the 1500s, a Cardinal Baronius speculated that Gelasius converted the Lupercalia into the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin (or Candlemas), changing one purification ceremony into another, and many noted authors have repeated this claim. Recent scholarship has refuted Baronius's assertion...there is no evidence that Gelasius advocated a celebration of Valentine's Day as a replacement for the Lupercalia. ... The letter by Gelasius to Andromachus criticizing the Lupercalia contains no reference to Valentine, or Valentine's Day, or any replacement observance.
Kelly gives the saint's day of the Genoese Valentine as May 3 and also claims that Richard's engagement was announced on this day.
Richard Cadbury, eldest son of John Cadbury who founded the now iconic brand, was the first chocolate-maker to commercialize the association between confectionery and romance, producing a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in 1868
|journal=
(help)|journal=
(help)A book in the church is filled with countless wishes addressed to the patron saint of lovers, while a steady stream of locals and visitors alike pray here for help in their amorous quests. "God has someone in mind for me, and I obviously haven't met him yet. So I just hope that Saint Valentine will assist me, that I will find him," said one female visitor. Another added: "We just prayed to find the right one, and I believe I will be led to him when the time is right."
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valentine's Day. |
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Valentine's Day |