Every year, on February 14, the world celebrates the holiday of Valentine’s Day! With Valentine’s Day comes many traditions. One of the most common traditions done on Valentine’s Day is gift giving! Many people like to show their love for significant others, friends, or people they admire, by giving them gifts. Some of the most popular gifts given on Valentine’s Day are flowers, heart shaped chocolates and candy, stuffed animals, jewelry, gift baskets, and handwritten notes. Consider these options if you are needing to give a gift to someone you love!
Even though Valentine’s Day items are fun to give, they also have lots of history behind them. For example, the tradition of giving flowers on Valentine’s Day, specifically roses, started as a tradition in the 17th century. Since roses represent love, couples began to give them to each other as a way to show their love for one another. Valentine’s Day itself also has a lot of history behind it. It originated as a Christian feast day to honor a martyr named Valentine. There were several martyrs with this name and different sources speculate which one this holiday is truly named after. However, through later folk traditions, and not until the 14th century, it turned into a significant celebration of romance and love which we now know as Valentine’s Day. Messages, or valentines, first appeared in the 1500s, and by the 1700s people were using commercially printed cards. Cupid can also often be seen used as a symbol or a “mascot” of Valentine’s Day. This is because in mythology, cupid is the god of love, desire, and affection.
