VALENTINE'S DAY

WHAT IS VALENTINE'S DAY?

 

Valentine's Day, or St Valentine's Day, is celebrated every year on 14 February.

It's the day when people show their affection for another person (or people!) by sending anonymous cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.

And traditionally on Valentine's Day in a leap year - every four years - women can propose marriage to their lovers!

WHY IS IT CALLED VALENTINE'S DAY?

The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was.

The most popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.

Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine thought this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.

When Claudius found out, Valentine was sentenced to death and thrown in jail. There, he fell in love with the jailor's blind daughter.

His love and belief in God cured her blindness, and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "From your Valentine".

WHEN DID CARD SENDING START?

The first Valentine message (apart from the one St Valentine wrote himself!) is thought to be a poem from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife in 1415.

He was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and was imprisoned in the Tower of London to await execution.

But Valentine's Day didn't become popular in the UK until the 17th century. By the 18th century it was traditional for people to swap handwritten messages of affection.

Printed cards soon replaced these, making it easier for people to say "I love you" secretly.