In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jim Carrey’s character says, "Valentine's Day is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap." Not knowing any better, I believed him.
Then, for this blog, I had to dig a little deeper. It turns out, Jim – or, at least, his movie character, Joel Barish – was full of crap.
Valentine’s Day has been around since forever. And, by “forever”, I mean since ancient Roman times. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia from February 13-15. It was a fertility festival where they sacrificed a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. Priests would cut the goat’s hide into strips, dip those strips into blood, then run around slapping women with the stuff. It was believed that this very minor assault would help those women become more fertile in the coming year.
All I can say is, it worked for me and Renée.
During the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I abolished Lupercalia and declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. Those rowdy Lupercalia rituals were banned. The goal wasn't just to add a holiday, but to eliminate a pagan party. Since people like to party, this didn’t go over well, but Pope G. would have none of it. Lupercalia was gone.
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the day became romantic. In 1381, the famous English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote Parliament of Fowls. Poems struggle to find traction these days but back then, lacking cell phones, tablets, and streaming services, people lapped up poetry with a spoon. When Geoffrey proclaimed that February 14 was the day birds chose their mates, the people got on board. “Courtly love” (chivalrous expression of admiration for potential mates) became the rage. Knights would write poems – “valentines” – to their ladies. Hearts started beating faster even without the bloody goat strips.
Another fun fact about the Middle Ages and Feb 14? People believed that the first person you saw on Valentine’s morning would be your future spouse.
By the 18th century, people began to exchange handwritten notes or small gifts on the day. Shipped over from England, Valentine’s Day cards were an expensive novelty until Esther Howland, a recent graduate of a women’s college, felt she could make them for less – and better. Beating Henry Ford to the punch, she set up an assembly line of female friends and local women to create “American” Valentines. (Around the same time, Richard Cadbury put his “eating chocolate” into lovely heart-shaped boxes for people to gift. Boxed chocolates were also a slamming success. But let’s stick with paper Valentines for today.)
Esther Howland’s cards were architectural beauties. Her team used "paper springs"—tiny accordion-folded strips of paper—to lift layers of lace and illustrations off the base card. Made from English lace paper, they had silk and satin ribbons. Gold leaf accents. Hand-glued everything. They looked expensive, and they were.
Sixty years later, long after Esther had sold her business to care for her elderly father, Joyce Hall of the Hall Brothers (now Hallmark) began selling Valentine’s Day cards. As flat as a postcard, Joyce’s version could be mailed without getting crushed. Instead of physical layers, advanced color lithography and embossing gave the cards the illusion of texture. Importantly, they came with preprinted sentiments, allowing anyone who wasn’t Geoffrey Chaucer to express their love without stumbling over their words.
Most importantly, they weren’t expensive at all. Joyce Hall and Hallmark had figured out how to make romance an affordable commodity for all. Which brings us to today.
Valentine’s Day wasn’t invented to make us feel like crap; it evolved, was rebranded, and was eventually mass-produced so we could all share a bit of "courtly love." There are those of us who still believe in such a thing even if the giving is limited to cardboard sunflowers and a bowl of pho at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant.
I’m just hoping it’s not too crowded. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Then, for this blog, I had to dig a little deeper. It turns out, Jim – or, at least, his movie character, Joel Barish – was full of crap.
Valentine’s Day has been around since forever. And, by “forever”, I mean since ancient Roman times. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia from February 13-15. It was a fertility festival where they sacrificed a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. Priests would cut the goat’s hide into strips, dip those strips into blood, then run around slapping women with the stuff. It was believed that this very minor assault would help those women become more fertile in the coming year.
All I can say is, it worked for me and Renée.
During the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I abolished Lupercalia and declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day. Those rowdy Lupercalia rituals were banned. The goal wasn't just to add a holiday, but to eliminate a pagan party. Since people like to party, this didn’t go over well, but Pope G. would have none of it. Lupercalia was gone.
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the day became romantic. In 1381, the famous English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote Parliament of Fowls. Poems struggle to find traction these days but back then, lacking cell phones, tablets, and streaming services, people lapped up poetry with a spoon. When Geoffrey proclaimed that February 14 was the day birds chose their mates, the people got on board. “Courtly love” (chivalrous expression of admiration for potential mates) became the rage. Knights would write poems – “valentines” – to their ladies. Hearts started beating faster even without the bloody goat strips.
Another fun fact about the Middle Ages and Feb 14? People believed that the first person you saw on Valentine’s morning would be your future spouse.
By the 18th century, people began to exchange handwritten notes or small gifts on the day. Shipped over from England, Valentine’s Day cards were an expensive novelty until Esther Howland, a recent graduate of a women’s college, felt she could make them for less – and better. Beating Henry Ford to the punch, she set up an assembly line of female friends and local women to create “American” Valentines. (Around the same time, Richard Cadbury put his “eating chocolate” into lovely heart-shaped boxes for people to gift. Boxed chocolates were also a slamming success. But let’s stick with paper Valentines for today.)
Esther Howland’s cards were architectural beauties. Her team used "paper springs"—tiny accordion-folded strips of paper—to lift layers of lace and illustrations off the base card. Made from English lace paper, they had silk and satin ribbons. Gold leaf accents. Hand-glued everything. They looked expensive, and they were.
Sixty years later, long after Esther had sold her business to care for her elderly father, Joyce Hall of the Hall Brothers (now Hallmark) began selling Valentine’s Day cards. As flat as a postcard, Joyce’s version could be mailed without getting crushed. Instead of physical layers, advanced color lithography and embossing gave the cards the illusion of texture. Importantly, they came with preprinted sentiments, allowing anyone who wasn’t Geoffrey Chaucer to express their love without stumbling over their words.
Most importantly, they weren’t expensive at all. Joyce Hall and Hallmark had figured out how to make romance an affordable commodity for all. Which brings us to today.
Valentine’s Day wasn’t invented to make us feel like crap; it evolved, was rebranded, and was eventually mass-produced so we could all share a bit of "courtly love." There are those of us who still believe in such a thing even if the giving is limited to cardboard sunflowers and a bowl of pho at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant.
I’m just hoping it’s not too crowded. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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