History and symbols

2. The History of Saint Valentine's DayValentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way. http://www.history.com/videos/history-of-valentines-day#history-of-valentines-day

4. Valentine's Day traditions Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was: Good morning to you, valentine;Curl your locks as I do mine- Two before and three behind.Good morning to you, Valentine. In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!" In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling. In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him. Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire. A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely! Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off. Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind.Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have. If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

6. First of all, 14 February at St Valentine’s day, the girls should pay attention to the birds. If on that day the girl saw Robin, she would get married to a sailor. According to superstitions, it is much better if she catches Robin. If, on the Valentines Day a girl saw Dove, she would get married to a man with a golden heart. If, on the Valentines Day a girl saw Sparrow, she will marry with a poor man who will bring lots of happiness in marriage and life. Not good if the girl, on the 14th February saw the Owl, because she will never get married. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry with a rich man.

8. Also, pay attention to the gifts. If someone, on St. Valentine's Day presents to you the key, he tells you that you can unlock his heart. So do not waste time. If you receive a gift of clothing from a boyfriend you have to keep the gift, if you want to marry him. Now the beliefs of flowers and Valentines Day. If you receive a red roses from your boyfriend, on the Valentines Day, he loves you. If you receive yellow roses from your boyfriend, he is jealous. If you receive a cactus plant from your boyfriend, you'll may have a quarrel, according to superstitions Valentine's Day Roses Rose is one of the most popular flower and one of the most powerful symbol of Valentine's Day. Since time immemorial rose flower has been a favorite of poets and romantics at heart. For them, the lovely rose stand for beauty, passion and love. Every year on February 14 lovers long for a gift of Rose from their Valentine as the flower has come to denote ‘I love you'. No wonder, demand for roses reach its zenith on Valentine's Day as people across the globe chose to express their love with a lovely rose.

9. Legend behind Valentine's Day RosesThere is an interesting story behind the legend of Valentine's Day Rose. It is said that once a beautiful maiden by the name of Rodanthe was pursued by a number of impassioned suitors. In their desperate pursuit the lovers broke the doors of Rodanthe's house. This enraged goddess Diana. She turned Rodanthe into a flower and her suitors into thorns. According to a popular legend in Rome once Cupid was carrying a vase of sweet nectar to the Gods on Mount Olympus and some nectar spilled on the ground. From the spot where the nectar fell emerged the beautiful Rose flower.An interesting point to notice is that if the letters of the word ‘rose' are rearranged, it comes out to Eros - the God of Love. Red roses are also considered to be a symbol of love and passion and the favorite flower of Venus - the Goddess of Love. Meaning of Different Colors of RosesRose flower is found n different colors and it is fascinating to note that each of these different Rose colors have been assigned different meanings by the society. Hence one needs to be careful while presenting rose to someone. Red Roses - Love and passionYellow Roses- Friendship White Roses - True love and purity of the mind Pink Roses - Friendship or SweetheartBlack Roses - Farewell

10. Origin of Valentine's Day Hearts Around 12th Century people were not aware the function of heart was to circulate blood inside the human body. What they knew was that heart begins to beat faster when a person is upset or excited. They, therefore, derived that heart was the seat of emotions and feelings. Poets too eulogized the role of heart in feelings of love and romance and over the years this make believe connection between heart and love became deep seated in the minds of people. Today, even though it has been scientifically proved that emotions come from the brain heart remains a powerful symbol of love and Valentine's Day.

11. Valentine's Day Hearts Red heart pierced by the Cupid's arrow is a traditional symbol of Valentine's Day. Heart symbolizes love and giving someone a heart means to hand over one's existence to someone. A heart pierced by a Cupid's arrow means that when someone presents a heart, the person takes the risk of being rejected and feeling hurt. Piercing arrow therefore symbolizes death and vulnerability of love. Some people also believe that the heart and arrow symbolizes the uniting of male and a female.

14. Cupid Winged and mischievous little angel called Cupid is one of the very famous Valentine's Day Symbols. The symbol traces its origin from the Roman mythology where Cupid has been described as the son of Venus - the Goddess of Love. It is believed that Cupid had a bow with a quiver of arrows and anyone hit by Cupid's arrow did not die but fell in love. According to a myth, it was Cupid's mother Venus who used to send him on such errands. In Greek mythology, Cupid is known by the name of Eros and as the son of Aphrodite - the Greek Goddess of Love. In Roman and Greek mythology Cupid is always shown as a youth and not as a fat baby with wings. In Latin, however, the meaning of the word ‘Cupid' is desire. Latin mythology shows Cupid as a chubby, naked, winged boy or youth with a mischievous smile and as someone who made people fall in love. In certain mythologies it is said that anyone shot with a Cupid's arrow falls in love with the first person he/she sees. It is also said that Cupid's arrow was invisible to his victims so that they would not be aware that they were shot until they fell in love. Several legends have used this mischief of Cupid to create hilarious situations.

15. Lovebirds & Doves Lovebirds and Doves are an endearing and prominent Valentine's Day symbols. The symbol traces its origin from a belief in the olden times that birds found their mate on February 14. Interestingly, lovers across the world till date hold on to this belief. Reason why doves and lovebirds are considered strongly as a symbol of Valentine's Day is that while doves signify purity, innocence and humbleness picture of lovebirds conjures up the vision of couple in love. About LovebirdsIt is said that blue colored lovebirds got their names because they sit closely to each other just like people who are in love do. People say that lovebirds can't think of their lives without their mates. Besides, lovebirds are known to keeping in pairs and keeping to themselves just as the young lovers want to live in privacy. Nowadays, lovebirds that are depicted on Valentine's Day are tiny parrots in bright colors. This is because lovebirds are genetically from parrot family.

16. About DovesA special characteristic of doves and pigeons is their extreme loyalty to their mates. Unlike most other animals that go from partner to partner, doves remain with one partner all through their life. This is why, doves are recognized as a symbol of love and loyalty on Valentine's Day. According to a myth, Roman Goddess Venus considered dove as sacred because of its fidelity towards mate. Cooing sound made by birds is linked to “love sound” attributed to lovers. For this reason, when lovers talk in flowery and sugary language to each other they are said to be 'cooing'.

17. Love Knots Love knot is yet another symbol of Valentine's Day. Representing love that will last forever, love knots are actually a series of winding and intertwining loops that have neither a beginning nor an end. Valentine's Day symbol of Love Knots traces its origin to early Arab traditions. Young Muslim women living in strict orthodox households used to express love to young men through secret messages woven through the knots of a carpet. Lovers read the messages by turning the knot around and around. The tradition of sending messages through the knots gave birth to the concept of love knots that exist even to this day.Some people believe the custom of love knots began with the sailors several years ago. This is because sailors were skilled at making fishnets and so making intricate knots was their forte.

18. Valentines Day Lace Laces and ribbons are a delicate Valentine's Day symbol. Their association with love and romance can be traced to ancient times. At that time when kings and knights went to battles their ladylove presented laces to them. There is yet another reason attributed to popularity of Laces as Valentine's Day symbol. Hundreds of years ago ladies used to carry lace handkerchief. If at times a lady accidentally dropped her hanky, courtesy demanded that the man standing near the lady pick up the handkerchief for her. Sometimes, ladies used to drop their handkerchiefs deliberately in front of the man they liked and wanted to meet. Lace therefore became a tool in the hands of ladies to encourage romance. Gradually, people began to associate lace with romance and started using paper lace to decorate chocolate boxes and Valentine cards. Even in present times laces are used in Valentine's Day Decoration and Cards.

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