VALENTINE'S DAY

by Brittany Fitzgerald

St. Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14th. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flwoers, or offering candy. The holiday is named after two among the numeropus early Christian martyrs named Calentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the traditions of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symboles include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards the sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th century America was important to the future of commercialization of holidays in the United States.

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that workers purchase approximately 86 percent of all valentines.