Valentine's Day - the holiday of Love - the traditions and history of the holiday. Valentine's Day: Everything you need to know about the holiday Bourgeois holiday Valentine's Day

The most romantic holiday falls in mid-February. For many, it has already become customary to celebrate Valentine's Day, people congratulate each other, exchange small pleasant gifts. Someone even specifically coincides with Valentine's Day wedding or engagement. But not everyone knows what the history of Valentine's Day is.

Unfortunately, no one can say exactly where the tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day came from. Even the true story of Saint Valentine is unknown, since at least three saints bearing this name have been canonized by the Catholic Church. But there is a beautiful legend about the origin of the holiday.

Legend

According to legend, the history of the most romantic holiday dates back to the third century. The formidable emperor of Rome, ruling at that time, named Claudius II, dreamed of conquering the whole world. And he did not want anything to prevent him from achieving his goals. The emperor believed that the best warrior is a single warrior , since a married man wants not to fight, but to live in a family and raise his children. Therefore, the emperor issued a decree that categorically forbade the legionnaires to marry.

However, the soldiers from the army of Claudius were not robots, but people. And people tend to fall in love. A priest named Valentine, well aware of the danger that threatens him, nevertheless secretly married lovers .

The emperor, having learned that his decree was grossly violated, was terribly angry. The disgraced priest was captured, imprisoned and sentenced to death. The young daughter of the jailer, having learned about the tragic story of Valentine, wanted to get to know him. An ardent feeling flared up between the young people. But Valentine did not have long to live. In a day before the execution, which fell on February 14 , the priest gave his beloved the last love note.

There is another version of the legend. According to her, the young daughter of the jailer was beautiful, but blind. But, having received a farewell note from Valentine, in which he put a sprig of saffron, the girl began to see clearly.

Who was Valentine?

The role of the founder of Valentine's Day can be "claimed" by several priests of the early Christian time. Thus, Valentine could be a Roman priest who was executed by decree of the emperor in 269. But perhaps the title of the most romantic saint deserves the Bishop of Interamna, who had the ability to heal the sick. This priest was also executed because, thanks to him, many young people converted to Christianity.

When did the holiday start?

Valentine's Day was established in 496 by a papal decree of Gelasius I.

Since 1969, as a result of the reform of worship, St. Valentine has been removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church (along with other Roman saints, information about whose life is contradictory and unreliable), the Internet portal wordyou.ru noted. However, even before 1969, the church did not approve and did not support the traditions of celebrating this day.

So modern Valentine's Day is an exclusively secular holiday, not a church one.

February 14, according to the Catholic calendar, is the day of veneration of Saints Cyril and Methodius. In the Orthodox Church, Roman Valentine's Day is present, but it falls on July 19 (according to the new style).

Many Christian holidays are based on pagan festivities. Valentine's Day is no exception. Many believe that the history of the holiday begins much earlier than the advent of Christianity.

In the days of Ancient Rome, the Lupercalia festival was very popular among young people. It was dedicated to eroticism and fertility. A holiday was arranged in honor of two deities at once - the goddess of love Juno and the satyr god Faun. This holiday was celebrated in mid-February. This month was New Year's Eve (the year of the Romans began on the first of March), so at this time it was necessary to take stock and make plans for the next year.

The holiday began at the Capitol Hill, where animals were sacrificed to the Faun, who patronized cattle breeding. Belts were cut from the skin of slain bulls and distributed to young men. The guys, having previously stripped naked, ran around the city, whipping girls and women they met with belts.

Interestingly, this way of “courting” did not cause protests among the ladies. Moreover, they willingly substituted their sides and backs, since it was believed that this rite would make women more fertile and provide them with an easy birth.

The celebration continued the next day. On this day, the girls dominated. They put tablets with their names in a large vase. And the men had to extract one plate at a time. That is, a kind of draw was held. That girl, whose name plate was removed by the guy, should be his girlfriend for this year. Nobody asked the guy's opinion about whether he likes the girl he will have to take care of.

A holiday, somewhat similar to the ancient Roman Lupercalia, the celebration in Russia during the period of paganism. True, it was celebrated not in February, but at the end of June (according to the old style, if you count according to the new one, then at the beginning of July), and was dedicated to Kupala, the god of fertility and the Sun.

Young boys and girls decorated themselves with flowers, sang songs, danced round dances, and jumped over fires.

Today the holiday is known as night of Ivan Kupala , since after the introduction of Christianity, this day was the day of memory of John the Baptist.

Tradition and modernity

The traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day have, of course, changed somewhat over the years. But one thing remained unchanged - the custom of exchanging love notes, which became known as "valentines".

The oldest known "valentine" is a love letter in verse sent by the Duke of Orleans to his young wife from a cell in the Tower of London. This "valentine" card dates back to 1415.

And since the middle of the 18th century, in the countries of Europe and America, it has become a habit to exchange small tokens of attention and notes with declarations of love. In the twentieth century, home-made "valentines" were practically replaced by ready-made postcards printed in printing houses. But nowadays it has again become fashionable to give hand-made "valentines".

At the beginning of the last century it has become fashionable for young people to send sweet gifts to their beloved - marzipans . At that time, this delicacy was not cheap, so it was a very generous gift. Over time, marzipans were replaced by chocolate. And the confectioners quickly figured out how to get additional profit, and began to produce sweets in the form of hearts.

In Japan, Valentine's Day began to be celebrated only in the 30s of the last century. But in the country of the Rising Sun, special traditions have developed. On this day, it is customary to congratulate only men. Girls give their chosen ones purely male accessories (razors, belts, etc.).

The holiday in Russia began to be celebrated in the 90s of the last century. But it has already managed to become incredibly popular, it is celebrated by people of all ages, from kindergarteners to pensioners, because, as you know, love knows no age.

Why did this holiday so quickly become a favorite in Russia? The answer is simple: during a long winter, any person wants more warmth and love. And then there was another reason to remember your loved ones. Therefore, people are happy to exchange pleasant gifts and confessions.

But there are some countries in the world that have especially distinguished themselves in celebrating Valentine's Day. First of all, this Saudi Arabia, which is the only country in the world where this holiday… officially banned, moreover, under pain of heavy fines.

And in Russia there was a holiday of lovers, only it was celebrated not in winter, but at the beginning of summer. It was associated with the legendary love story of Peter and Fevronia, today in our country this day is celebrated official holiday All-Russian day of family, love and fidelity.

Or Valentine's Day. Since the 1990s, this holiday has become popular in Russia.

Initially, the celebration of the memory of St. Valentine was established as a veneration of his martyrdom, without any connection with the patronage of lovers. At the dawn of Christianity, three people who bore the name Valentine were martyred for their faith. The only thing known about the first of them is that he died in Carthage along with a group of fellow believers.

The second Valentine was the bishop of Interamna (now the city of Terni, Italy), he was executed during the persecution of Christians and buried at the Via Flaminius in the vicinity of Rome.

The third martyr, Presbyter Valentinus, was beheaded between 268 and 270 and buried at the Via Flaminius. The relics of Presbyter Valentine rest partly in Rome, partly in Dublin, and the relics of the bishop - in the city of Terni.

During the reform of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the celebration of the memory of Valentine as a church saint was abolished on the grounds that there is no information about this martyr, except for the name and information about beheading with a sword. In the Catholic liturgical calendar, February 14 is the commemoration of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

In the Orthodox Church, both martyrs Valentine have their own commemoration days. Valentin the Roman, a presbyter, is venerated on July 19, and the Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on August 12.

The history of the emergence of the image of St. Valentine as the patron saint of lovers refers to the Middle Ages and their romantic literature, and not to the circumstances of the life of real martyrs who died at the dawn of Christianity.

The day of February 14 in England and Scotland was accompanied by a peculiar custom. On the eve of Valentine's Day, young people gathered and put tickets in the urn with the names of young girls written on them. Then each took out one ticket. The girl, whose name went to the young man, became his "Valentina" for the coming year, just as he was her "Valentine". This meant that for a year relationships arose between young people, similar to those that, according to the descriptions of medieval novels, arose between a knight and his "lady of the heart." This custom was of pagan origin.

According to the custom established since ancient times, the young men sent gifts to their beloved on this day, as well as letters and poems in which they expressed their feelings and wishes.

The very first valentine greeting card in the world is considered to be a note sent from imprisonment in the Tower of London in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, and addressed to his wife.

Valentines were very popular in the 18th century, especially in England. They were exchanged as gifts. Lovers made postcards from multi-colored paper and signed with colorful ink. By the beginning of the 20th century, with the improvement of printing technology, printed cards began to replace handwritten ones.

Today is Valentine's Day in the form of hearts, with declarations of love, marriage proposals or just jokes.

Italians call February 14 sweet day and give sweets and sweets. Valentines are mailed in a pink envelope with no return address.

In Denmark, dried white flowers are usually sent to each other, and in Spain it is considered the height of passion to send a love letter with a carrier pigeon.

In Japan, Valentine's Day has been around for decades. This is not so much a declaration of love as a sign of attention. Chocolate sets specially produced for this day are exchanged by friends, many Japanese women buy "Valentine" chocolates for themselves. In recent years, the fashion to give chocolate has reached elementary schools and even kindergartens.

Giving chocolate on Valentine's Day is also common in South Korea, with gifts given only by women to their men. For the closest men, residents of South Korea prepare chocolate with their own hands.

The tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day, also known as Valentine's Day, came to us from the West. On this day, lovers give each other gifts, confess their love and, of course, give each other special cards - valentines. interesting history of occurrence this holiday.

There is a beautiful legend about the origin of Valentine's Day. According to this legend, the Roman emperor Claudius II, who lived in the third century AD, was an opponent of marriage unions, as they prevented his legionnaires from fighting well. Therefore, the emperor issued a decree forbidding marriage. The priest Valentine, contrary to the decree, continued to secretly marry lovers, for which he was thrown into prison and sentenced to death. The jailer's daughter, seeing Valentine and learning his story, fell in love with him. The priest reciprocated her. Since they could not see each other, the lovers communicated through correspondence. On the day of execution The 14th of February 270 (according to other sources 269) of the year, the priest sent his beloved the last note signed "From Valentine".

According to another version of the legend about the origin of the holiday of all lovers, the head of the prison in which Valentine was imprisoned for his "criminal" deeds, learned about the healing abilities of the prisoner and brought his blind daughter Julia to him. On the day of his execution, Valentine wrote a farewell love letter to Julia. Having received the note, the girl found yellow saffron inside it and a miracle happened - she received her sight.

Under the name Saint Valentine's several early Christian holy martyrs are known. One of them was Valentine, a Roman priest who was executed around 269 AD. Another famous Saint Valentine is the Bishop of Interamna. This saint was known for his miraculous healings. He was executed for converting the mayor's son to Christianity. It is possible that this saint is mentioned in the legend. The feast of February 14 in memory of both saints was established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I.

Already in our time, 1969 year, as a result of the reform of worship, St. Valentine was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church (along with other Roman saints, information about whose life is contradictory and unreliable). Catholic Church February 14 honors the memory saints Kirill and Methodius. The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Valentine, Presbyter of Rome July 6 (19).

According to one legend, the roots of Valentine's Day go back to pagan times. It is believed that the "predecessors" of this holiday were the so-called Lupercalia- a celebration of abundance and eroticism. Lupercalia were held in ancient Rome in honor of the goddess of "feverish" love, Juno Februata, and the patron god of the herds, Faun (Luperka) on February 15th.

Young girls wrote love notes to men and put them in a special urn for drawing lots. The man who took out such a note had to look after the one who wrote it. On this day, men whipped oncoming women with whips made from the skin of a sacrificial goat. This was supposed to promote the fertility of women, so they were happy to be exposed to blows.

Pope Gelasius I in 494 AD"moved" the celebration of the Lupercalia from the fifteenth to the fourteenth of February. Thus, Lupercalia coincided with the day of veneration of St. Valentine. Soon the celebration of Lupercalia came to naught.

The celebration of Valentine's Day in February is also associated with the beginning of the mating season for birds. It was believed that if a marriage union is concluded at this time, it will be long and happy.

It is traditionally believed that the holiday in honor of lovers came to the countries of the former CIS from the West. However, celebrations, to some extent similar to the Roman Lupercalia, have long been in Russia. So Kupala Day has been celebrated in Russia since ancient times, falling on July 7, more precisely on the night of July 6-7, according to the old style, on the night of June 23-24. The holiday was dedicated to the summer solstice and the pagan Slavic sun god Kupala. On this day, the Sun, the maturity of summer and the green mowing were honored. Young people girded themselves with bandages of flowers, put wreaths on their heads, danced round dances, sang songs. Later, in connection with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, this pagan holiday was replaced by the veneration of the memory of John (Ivan) the Baptist, because the day of the Nativity of John the Baptist coincided with the pagan holiday of Kupala. The name "Ivan Kupala" was assigned to the holiday, under which we know it now.

July 8 (June 25, old style) the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom, patrons of love and family happiness.

Massively February 14 as Valentine's Day and as Valentine's Day in Europe is celebrated with 13th century, and in America - with 1777. This holiday is secular(not religious).

It is widely believed that Valentine's Day was specifically introduced by the Catholic Church to replace the ancient Roman holiday of Lupercalia. However, there is no reliable evidence for this, and the very figure of St. Valentine is so vague and not connected with love that the Roman Catholic Church abandoned the liturgy on the occasion of this day. We understand the secret of the most romantic holiday.

Who is Saint Valentine

There are quite a few Christian saints named Valentine, and at least two of them were honored on February 14: Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Ternius (or Interamna).

All that is known about Valentine of Rome is that he was a priest in Rome, he was killed in 269 and buried along the Via Flaminius leading north from Rome.

Valentine of Terni preached in the city of Interamne (now Terni). According to his life, the Roman aristocrat Craton, when his son fell ill, having despaired after the unsuccessful attempts of doctors to cure him, called the local bishop for help. According to legend, he healed the young man with the help of prayer, because of which his entire family converted to Christianity, and when the news of this spread throughout the city, many other citizens, including the son of the mayor, accepted Christianity. The indignant mayor ordered the arrest of Valentine and demanded that he make a sacrifice to the pagan gods, and when he refused to do this, he beheaded him.

Also in connection with this date, another Saint Valentine is mentioned, about whom it is only known that he and his comrades were killed in Africa.

In the Catholic tradition, all these saints were revered on February 14th. However, in 1969, at the Second Vatican Council, Saint Valentine was excluded from the liturgical calendar, since only the fact that he was beheaded was known for certain about him. Instead, on February 14, as in the Orthodox tradition, they began to honor Saints Cyril and Methodius. In Orthodoxy, the day of Valentine of Rome is celebrated on July 6, and Valentine of Terniy on July 30.

The connection of the holiday with the Lupercalia

It is widely believed that as a holiday of love, Valentine's Day replaced the Roman pagan holiday of Lupercalia, associated with fertility and childbearing. As part of this holiday, Roman aristocrats sacrificed animals, and then ran naked around the city and whipped women with strips of skin. Women, on the other hand, were gladly substituted, because it was believed that this would increase their ability to bear children.

The Lupercalia were allegedly so popular that Pope Gelasius I tried to ban them and introduced Valentine's Day instead in 494. However, Lupercalia was a local holiday for Rome and was not celebrated anywhere else.

Some researchers have suggested that the holiday introduced by Gelasius was not St. Valentine's Day, but the Day of the Atonement of the Holy Virgin Mary. And he brought it into Jerusalem, because Jerusalem was the birthplace of Jesus. Later this holiday merged with the nearby Presentation of the Lord. However, this holiday also appeared after Gelasius, so that the widely disseminated belief that St. Valentine's Day replaced Lupercalia by the decision of the Catholic Church turns out to be completely false.

How did the romantic connotations of this holiday come about?

The myth of the connection of Valentine's Day with Lupercalia first appeared in the work of the English Catholic priest and hagiographer Alan Butler, "The Lives of the First Saints", written between 1756 and 1759. Most likely, he, in the absence of reliable information about St. Valentine's Day, tried to artificially link the traditions of his celebration that already existed at that time with other, more ancient holidays. However, he does not provide any evidence for his theory. Despite this, many historians and publicists, talking about the history of the holiday, uncritically relied on his work.

In fact, the first mention of Valentine's Day, in connection with romantic love, appeared only in the XIV century. They appear in the poetry of the founder of English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer. He mentions this day as the time of the beginning of spring, when nature wakes up and the birds begin to sing to find a mate.

It should be noted that the connotation of spring and love is a fairly typical phenomenon. The same Lupercalia was also a celebration of fertility: both natural and female. In Greek mythology, there is a legend about Persephone, the goddess of fertility, who fell in love with Hades and annually descends to his kingdom for six months. It is during these six months that autumn and winter come.

However, February 14 is too early for the onset of spring. According to one version, Chaucer speaks of another Saint Valentine - the Archbishop of Genoa, who, presumably, was venerated on May 3rd.

According to another version, in the time of Chaucer, Valentine's Day shifted towards the end of the month and fell on February 23rd. This is due to the fact that in his time they used the Julian, and not the more accurate Gregorian calendar. Due to the fact that the movement of the Earth around the Sun does not occur exactly in 365 days, in both calendars there is a gradual shift in calendar dates compared to the real seasons. However, if in the Julian calendar it occurs every 128 years, then in the Gregorian - every 10,000 years. Therefore, when in 1582 there was a transition from the Julian calendar, which at that time had already been used for 15 centuries, to the Gregorian, the difference between them was 10 days.

In any case, it was Chaucer and the poets of his circle who romanticized Valentine's Day and invented most of the legends associated with it, including the legend that Saint Valentine was a priest who secretly married lovers, contrary to the emperor's ban.

Turning Valentine's Day into Valentine's Day

The final formation of St. Valentine's Day as Valentine's Day occurred only in the 19th century. Until that time, it was a local English holiday, which was celebrated in different ways by peasants from different regions and the aristocracy. So, for example, among the peasants from Norfolk, it was customary on Valentine's Day, as well as on many other religious holidays, to find out their betrothed, and also to give sweets to children. The aristocracy had a tradition of writing love letters. This custom appeared after the 15th century, thanks to the Duke of Orleans, who, sitting in an English prison, sent his wife the first Valentine in history.

In the 19th century, these traditions began to intertwine as the distinction between peasants and aristocrats began to blur due to industrialization, democratization and urbanization. In addition, formation began in the 19th century, which provoked a fashion for turning to folk and ancient national traditions.

This, in turn, caused a surge of interest in the medieval tradition of courtly love - the ritual courtship of a knight for a beautiful lady. It is on the basis of this tradition that modern ideas about. Coincidentally, the time of the courtly tradition occurred precisely during the life of Geoffrey Chaucer, who, as we remember, first associated Valentine's Day with love, so that his poetry became an important source for the construction and modern ideas about romance.

By the 40s of the 19th century, being a local English religious holiday, Valentine's Day caused a real romantic fever, first in the UK, and then in the USA. Merchants quickly picked up on the idea, realizing that it could be highly profitable by making money on chocolate, gifts and greeting cards, and contributed to the popularization and commercialization of the holiday. And thanks to them, the holiday spread throughout the rest of the world.

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Valentine's Day, which falls on February 14, is celebrated in our country relatively recently, only a couple of decades, while in Europe it has long traditions and roots dating back to the history of the ancient world.

How is Valentine's Day celebrated?

The external manifestations of this holiday are known to everyone: in a couple of weeks, all the counters are full of hearts of all shapes and sizes, everyone gives each other the so-called "valentines" - postcards, also made in the form of hearts. Traditionally, most of them are anonymous, and the recipient is asked to guess who the sender is on their own. However, it is believed that these postcards appeared much later than the holiday itself, whose age is about 18 centuries, while The wife of the Duke of Orleans received the first Valentine in 1415.. He was in prison, and decided in such an original way to show his love for his lawful wife. Who would have thought that the fashion for them would go so far and last so long! Some muster up the courage and confess their love on this day. Many, in addition to traditional souvenirs, give something more substantial, but this differs from the classical canons of the holiday.

The classic version of the origin of Valentine's Day

Today, probably, only the lazy one, or the one who completely denies what is happening these days, does not know her. This story happened, as the legend says, because there is no documentary evidence for all the events described below, and hardly existed, in 269 AD. Then Emperor Claudius II ruled, and Christianity was a very young religion. Then the adherents of Christianity were still persecuted by the worshipers of paganism, and Christian marriage, in the modern sense, almost did not exist. However, there was some christian priest valentine, who not only performed the sacrament of Christian marriage - he married legionnaires, to whom marriage bonds were prohibited by the nature of their service in general. As the legends say, the priest was not just a religious figure of that time, he was also engaged in science and medicine, and was also engaged in settling conflicts and quarrels between lovers. Some legends say that he was an ordinary priest, some believe that he was a bishop, be that as it may, his activities did not go unnoticed by the authorities, and he went to prison, after which he was executed. Judging by some sources, love did not bypass him either, and already in prison he learned about this feeling that the blind daughter of the jailer had for the saint. She wrote him a letter, where she confessed her passionate passion, but since the priest could not take off his vow of celibacy, all actions on his part were limited to a touching letter that the girl received on the eve of his execution, February 13. However, there is a more optimistic, but less real version, according to which Valentine and this girl had mutual feelings for each other. Moreover, on the night before the execution, using his knowledge of medicine, he cured his beloved of blindness, after which he already went to the execution, which was carried out by cutting off the head with a sword. The priest who accepted death for his convictions was canonized, having been made a saint, and since the 8th century in Western Europe, February 14 was considered the feast of all lovers. In America, they began to celebrate it a little later, since 1777, and even more so in Russia: as already mentioned, we became aware of it about 20 years ago.

The external attributes of the holiday remain almost unchanged throughout the entire time that it is celebrated: hearts, hearts and hearts again, sweets, postcards and souvenirs are made in the form of them.

The meaning of the holiday has changed somewhat over time. So, in the Middle Ages in Britain, both in its English and Scottish parts, a kind of lottery was arranged on this day, pulling out the name of a beloved for a year. Thus, the holiday was important not only for couples, but also for those who have not yet found happiness in love, and thus gave the latter hope for happiness. Today, the official Catholic Church does not recognize Saint Valentine., and does not celebrate this day. The explanation is the lack of substantiated information on this issue, because all the data regarding the circumstances of the case and the personality of the priest are in the nature of myths and fairy tales, and do not have documented sources. The only thing known is the way the priest was executed. Guided by these data, or rather their absence, since 1969 the Catholic Church has excluded this holiday from the officially approved ones, it has not supported and does not support the traditions of its celebration. Today it is fashionable to get married on this day, it is believed that such a marriage will be strong and happy, and love in it will be eternal.

Another version of the appearance of Valentine's Day

This option is not at all romantic, and therefore not popular. The origins of this version also refer to antiquity, and is connected with the fact that earlier in mid-February it was necessary celebration of lupercalia- a holiday of female fertility, widely celebrated in ancient Rome. As part of the celebration, women stripped naked and put their bodies under the blows of whips, which were also distributed by naked Romans running through the streets of the city. It was believed that to receive your portion of blows is to ensure high fertility and easy childbirth, which was especially appreciated with the level of medicine of that time. Rome, as a state, in every possible way encouraged the manifestations of this holiday, since it was believed that as a result, even the most hopeless representatives of the human race acquired the ability to bear children. In those days, infant mortality, both in childbirth and in the first year of life, had a terrifying level, which more than once put Rome on the brink of extinction. Such a holiday dedicated to the goddess of "feverish" love "and the Faun, the patron saint of herds, each year led to a surge in the birth rate, which was welcomed by the state. With the advent of Christianity on the world stage, more than one holiday was transformed and took on a more civilized appearance. This custom did not bypass the lupercalia, where pagan roots were disguised by a civilized Christian cover. However, not all historians support this version, many of them believe that these two holidays are connected only by the fact that they relate to love and coincide chronologically, having completely different origins and manifestations.

How Valentine's Day was celebrated at different times

Everyone knows how this day is celebrated today, but people did not come to this order immediately, and in different countries it was celebrated in different ways.

England

In this country, as mentioned above, a kind of lottery was held on this day: on Valentine's Day, young people pulled out tickets with the names of their companions for the next year. Many couples created on this day formalized their relationship in the future, those who were unlucky got another chance the next year. This fun was the lot of the common people, and the aristocrats amused themselves that day by trying to outdo each other with the splendor and wealth of gifts presented to their mistresses.

Giving gifts to wives on Valentine's Day was considered the height of indecency. The first Valentine, however, was presented in England, and it was to the legal wife, as mentioned above.

In general, this holiday in Britain was so popular that servants in rich houses could abandon their work while waiting for mail with heartfelt messages, and not be subjected to cruel punishment.

America

Until the 18th century, poverty and its accompanying puritanical customs reigned in this country, severely limiting the number of holidays and entertainment. For a long time they did not even celebrate Easter and Christmas there, not finding direct permission in the Holy Scriptures to mess around on this day. Even Thanksgiving was only a day for the Presbyterian church, and was celebrated with great restraint. Needless to say, St. Valentine's Day did not fit into the strict and Spartan way of those centuries at all, however, when the traditions of celebrating it with roses and postcards gradually penetrated from across the ocean, Americans liked it. By that time, a fairly good level of prosperity had already been achieved in the country, and commerce was connected to the production of hearts and other holiday accessories. Their production and sale were put on stream, and soon its celebration began to be carried out on a large scale.

Japan

In this country, Valentine's Day began to be celebrated after the end of World War II, when Japan, until that time completely closed from the rest of the world, began to transfer American and European traditions into its life. However, here the celebration has its own characteristics: firstly, most gifts and souvenirs were made from chocolate, and secondly, it has historically developed that for the most part it was the day of men, they were mostly presented with sweet gifts. At present, this trend has continued.

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Germany

St. Valentine's Day also penetrated into this country after the end of the war, and basically its celebration was carried out in European traditions, but had its own bias. So from the beginning of the celebration it was customary that this day was not just a holiday for lovers, but also for those who intended to enter into legal marriage. These young people were supposed to come to the bishop of the area where they lived on February 14 and ask him for an official blessing for the marriage procedures. It was believed that such a marriage would be more durable and happy. At present, the custom has been preserved only for religious couples, which, however, are many in Germany. In conclusion, we offer you a short video in which we will also learn a little about the traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day in Ancient Rome and how it is done in our time in different countries of the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-GH-hvEtvY