Valentine's Day: history and traditions

Valentine's Day is a time for expressing feelings, love, and romance. But how did this holiday originate and what traditions have been preserved over the years - UNN will tell you.

Valentine's Day, celebrated on February 14th, has its own interesting history and indispensable attributes, such as valentines. Cut-out paper or cardboard hearts with the most sincere words of love are the most important little thing of the holiday. On the eve of Valentine's Day, stores are overflowing with cards, but the best valentine is one made with your own hands. It is also customary to give flowers and sweets to loved ones. 

History of the holiday

According to legend, in 269, the Roman Emperor Claudius II sought to conquer the whole world, but he had too small an army, and he believed that family life was to blame, as soldiers devoted too much time to it. Therefore, the ruler issued a decree prohibiting marriage during military service. Despite the decree, a young priest named Valentine secretly married lovers. When Claudius II found out about this, he sentenced the priest to death. 

While Valentine was awaiting punishment in prison, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter, Julia. Before his death, he left her a letter confessing his love and signed it "Your Valentine." This marked the beginning of the tradition of valentines. 

Valentine was beheaded, and later he was canonized by the Catholic Church. And only two hundred years later, this day, February 14th, was recognized as Valentine's Day.

Holiday traditions

In Ukraine, the holiday is relatively new, but already quite popularized. In Western Europe, the holiday began to be widely celebrated in the 13th century, and in the USA, the holiday appeared in 1777. 

On this day, it is customary to give gifts, candies, and flowers to loved ones, but in the USA, not only partners are congratulated, but also close relatives and friends. At the beginning of the century, marzipan was a sign of great love; these sweets were given on Valentine's Day, as it was quite an expensive pleasure at that time. Confectioners quickly picked up on this trend and began to create new sweets, thus arriving at heart-shaped candies.