Valentine's Day Celebration Everythings On Sale But Why?

Ancient Rome is riddled with unique traditions. None can be more strange than the beginnings of St. Valentine's Day. Though it was not named a holiday at the time, once a year, for a teenage male to reach his rights of passage (to the God Lupercus) he had to choose a name from a box. In the box were the names of all the teenage girls in the village. She was his for a year. Not until 800 years later did the church terminate this ceremony. It turned out it was a celebration of a man named Christian Priest named Valentine.

The way boys became men, or rights to passage to manhood, was, once per year, all the teenage girl's names in the village were place in a box. All the boys one by one picked a name from the box. The name he chose was the girl who would be more or less "his slave" for a year. It would be another eight centuries before church leaders terminated this annual event.

Church records show that a priest who lived near Rome in 270 A.D., St Valentine was the inspiration. It was a time when Emperor Claudius 11 issued an edict forbidding marriage , as he felt married men were too emotionally attached to their families and did not make good fighters. On top of that, the Roman Empire was about to see its final days.

Secret hidden weddings had been performed by St. Valentine after he noticed the pain and suffering experienced by young lovers wanting to unite. He was soon caught and executed but not before Claudius tried to convert him, to save him from being terminated, to believe in the Roman gods, which Valentine would not change his Christian beliefs.

On February 24th, 270, Claudius put him to death.

While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailer, Asterius. The jailer had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailer, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.

Valentine was later named a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.

As Christianity grew, so did the popularity of the Valentine's Day card, and is now Valentine's Day celebrated worldwide. Of course is a nonsectarian holiday celebrated by almost all faiths, and people of none. One of the earliest Valentine's cards was sent in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is displayed at the British Museum.

I only found out the origins of Valentine's Day today, and found it quite interesting. So what I decided to do was add a "Sex, Love, & Relationship" section to my main gift shop, and mark everything down up to 80% just through Valentine's day, just to make the Patron Saint happy. It can include a gift card and the customer does not have to sign it "From Your Valentine" but can if he/she wishes. I always put "Love, Ricky".

By: Rick London

Cartoonist and history buff Rick London has marked down to 80% all his sex, love, and relationship gifts just for Valentines Day. He owns Funny Gift Shops Offbeat Valentines Presents, and

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