Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Do you know what I will never understand?
People who despise Valentine’s Day. I have never not liked a certain day…to me, any day is a great day because I was gifted the ability to wake up to it! Really, hating Valentine’s Day is a mindset thing.
I suppose if we look at it from a commercial perspective…it can be a bit annoying… especially if we take a gander down memory lane to elementary school…think back to when we had to give people Valentine’s Day cards? *eye roll* That’s where I draw the line…buying what in my opinion are pointless cards with hearts, and all these wild Valentine’s Day shenanigans on them. Like seriously…where the heck did a baby with wings with a BOW AND ARROW (a little barbaric, no?) come from!? Nevertheless, hearts, that don’t even look like the real thing…
I draw the line at cards. I’m not a card person, never have been. If you like me, think I am cool, or whatever, call me and tell me. Spoken words go so much further, that, or a handwritten note on a nice craft piece of paper. No flying angel babies with arrows, and hearts that don’t look like the real thing, and sparkles and glitter. A simple handwritten letter on a recyclable piece of paper for me, please!
Anyway, you’re here because you want to know the answer to the question: Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day.
So without any further due let’s get to it.
Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day
The History of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day, is your bra hooked on right? Cause I am about to blow your bra off with how wild the history of this day is. So there are a couple of origin stories according to History. The first is that there were a few Saints that were named Valentine or Valentinus, two of who were martyred by Emperor Claudius who
reigned Ancient Rome during 41–54 ce. Legend says that it is after Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop of the time, that Valentine’s Day is named.
Saint Valentine was said to have been imprisoned for marrying couples illegally. Emperor Claudius II had instilled a law preventing anyone from marrying. At the time, Claudius needed men for the war, and marrying vetoed them from having to join the military. During his imprisonment, it is believed Valentine sent a valentine to a young woman and signed it “From your Valentine”– coining the phrase that we still use in those little V-Day cards I had mentioned earlier…*insert cringe*
Due to this, some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated to commemorate the death of Saint Valentine. Sure, let’s name the day of love after a man who isn’t related to anything Valentine’s Day-ee at all…
Others say that origins of why we celebrate Valentine’s Day are a little different–still has to do with the Romans. This reason…this one is the one that’s weird.
It is believed that “Valentine’s Day” was placed in the middle of February to try
and “Christianize” the pagan festival of Lupercalia–a fertility festival celebrated on the 15th of February. This festival was dedicated to the Roman God of agriculture, Faunus, as well as to the alleged founders of Rome, Romulus, and Remus.
At the beginning of the festival an order of the Roman priests, aka the Luperci, gathered in a cave where the founders of Rome were said to have been cared for by a she-wolf goddess. The priests would then sacrifice a goat signifying fertility and a dog signifying purity. The hides of these animals were stripped and doused in sacrificial blood. Then men would take the goat hide to the streets and whipped women – Jesus…
Yeah, I wouldn’t want any goat hide touching my hind, thank you very much…But get this, according to History, women were not fearful of getting smacked with this freshly sacrificed goat skin…in fact, they allegedly welcomed it.
Women at the time believed that it would bless them with fertility–so much so they lined up to be whipped. Later that day women would place their names in an urn. The city’s bachelors would choose a name and then be paired for a year with the chosen woman– just another example of how deeply rooted the patriarchy is…
Lastly, love seemed to already be in the air in February with the above celebration of fertility, as well as with the beginning of the mating season for birds, and other animals as well.
Where Did The Baby With Wings Come From?
To us, he’s been Cupid, but to the Greeks, he was Eros, the handsome God of Love. Eros’ lineage is a little unclear, however, what we do know is that he was armed with a bow and a pouch, aka a quiver to hold his bows. His bows consisted of gold ones to ignite desire, and leaded ones to ignite aversion. He was tasked with striking the hearts of Gods, and humans, playing with their emotions.
Cupid wasn’t always a baby either, as a matter of fact, he was depicted as being extremely handsome so much so that he was irresistible to humans and Gods alike. It wasn’t until later that Cupid began being depicted as a mischievous child– an image that’s stuck to this day. Poor Cupid…from a handsome God to a flying baby in a diaper – talk about a downgrade.
How Did Lingerie, Chocolate & Roses Become Valentine’s Day Staples?
I honestly am not one to complain about the rise in popularity of lingerie, chocolates, or roses on Valentine’s Day… I am big on dressing up in something sexy and letting that inner lioness out while enjoying chocolates, and gazing upon a lovely bouquet of roses.
The Rose
So it isn’t just any rose–it’s gotta be a RED ROSE, and gentlemen…a piece of advice…don’t get wilted roses or roses with imperfections. Get your woman the perfect bouquet of flawless roses, because she’s fricken amazing. I had a boyfriend who would gift me peach coloured roses on V-Day, and while the gesture was sweet, and was ultimately out of love…it didn’t have the same meaning to me. The beauty of a red rose or a bouquet of them…is breathtaking. It’s like when you see a woman in a red dress…it stuns you and then, it takes your breath away.
The red rose conveys deep emotions, which makes sense seeing that it is the colour of blood something deep within us, and something that we could not go without. The red rose signifies vulnerability, love, desire, admiration, and respect–which has lead it to become the most popular flower to gift in the month of February.
The Lingerie
After learning about Ancient Romans celebrating fertility in the month of February, it really is no wonder lingerie is one of the best-selling clothing items during this time of year. Everyone was already thinking about the birds and the bees.
There really is such a difference in my confidence in the bedroom when I have a tightly fitting corset on that hugs me perfect in all the right places, with some fishnet stockings, heels, perfume, makeup, and my hair freshly done…MMMmmmMM– I feel like a fricken badass or like I belong on the cover of Playboy magazine. I feel like a lioness on the prowl, a spider zeroing in on her kill–only I’m not killing anyone or anything…I’m vegan! Just trying to depict just how spicy I feel! Bedroom time when I am in baggy seats and my boyfriend's T-shirt are great...but they're nothing compared to when I'm feeling my inner seductress.
If you don’t have your sexy-time lingerie yet for Valentine’s Day, here is my absolute FAVOURITE SET to make you feel incredible, and to give your partner a little zap of surprise! The Modern Match Longline Bra, and Cheeky Panty are perfect for your date night as they're SO comfy, and they're SO sexy!
The Chocolates
The first Valentine’s Day Box of chocolates was produced by no one other
than Richard Cadbury…yes, CADBURY that delicious chocolate that many of us still enjoy! In the 1840s as Valentine’s Day ramped in popularity throughout a lot of the English-speaking world, Cadbury got creative, improving his chocolate-making technique, allowing him to desing more varieties of chocolates. As this happened he saw that Valentine’s Day was the perfect marketing opportunity for his new product. So he began handmaking Valentine’s Day square chocolate boxes, adding cupid, and heart designs to the boxes. The heart-shaped boxes came a little later–Cadbury didn’t patent them, however, is believed to be the first to have stuck chocolates in a heart-shaped box–which served a dual purpose seeing that they could be reused by those who received them.
Thank god for Cadbury…because I am not sure what I would do without my favourite chocolates on V-Day…
There is also a correlation between dark chocolate and Valentine’s Day! With sex experts saying that dark chocolate is a great aphrodisiac.
Do You Need To Have Sex On Valentine’s Day?
Hell to the NO! You don’t HAVE to do anything you don’t WANT to do! Sure, sex with your partner is great, but it isn’t a MUST! As a matter of fact, sometimes I feel like there is so much pressure to have sex on Valentine’s Day that I don’t even end up enjoying myself with my partner!
Going into Valentine’s Day without any expectations is the best way to go about it! Have fun, drink some champagne, eat some chocolates and enjoy each other’s company!
Why Do We Celebrate Valentine’s Day?
So, why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day? Honestly…I think it’s because as human’s we LOVE an excuse to celebrate! We love doing fun things, and V-Day is one of the many days of the year that we get to do that. Whether it’s the one time of the year that you drink champagne, eat chocolates, and wear your
sexiest lingerie, or watch a movie and eat a delicious home-cooked meal with the person that matters most…we love any excuse to do something special.
My mom grew up telling me that having designated “Days” to celebrate things wasn’t necessary–that I should be loving her every day and showing it. But I disagree! While I do think that love should be shown every day…having a special day to celebrate means you get to do something a little different, start new traditions and have an excuse to create special memories!
Why we celebrate Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be solely related to having a lover, either! I mean, look at how far we’ve come in the evolution of this ONE day…take cupid for an example…he went from the God of Love, irresistible to men and Gods alike…to a flying baby in a diaper. V-Day is what you make it, and it allows you to get creative and start your own traditions! So get together with your besties, or hang out with your partner, whatever you do just make sure there’s tons of love to go around!
Veronica Beltran - Veronica is part of the Digital Marketing Team at Modern Match Lingerie. She has a passion to create a difference in the world, something she takes pride in doing through her work at Modern Match. She was previously a journalist and news anchor. In her spare time, she enjoys creating social media content.
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