Certain Sweet Myths about Valentine's Day
Myths about Valentine's Day run the gamut from fanciful to reasonable. Here are a few we thought you might enjoy.
Compared to holidays like Christmas and Halloween, myths about Valentine's Day tend to be rather tame. Except, of course, for the one that millions of men fall afoul of every year. You know, the one where you claim the holiday's no big deal. Sure, it's OK to skip Valentine's Day -- if you want to be single on February 15.
In all seriousness, there are a few Valentine's Day myths you might want to consider the next time you're buying a box of Valentine cards for your kid's kindergarten class. Here are three interesting ones.
Myth 1: Valentine's Day is basically a modern creation.
Given the way we treat the holiday today, this myth about Valentine's Day does sound reasonable. But it's a no-go. The fact is, Valentine's Day has been celebrated in Europe and America for centuries, well before the modern greeting card and floral industries got their claws into us.*
It's a tad ironic, then, that the oldest surviving greeting card we know of is a lovely little handmade valentine that dates from the 1400s. It has its own special display case in the British Museum.
Myth 2: Valentine's Day is based on the legend of St. Valentine.
Oh yeah? Which one? While this myth about Valentine's Day probably isn't strictly a myth, it's hard to determine who our St. Valentine actually was. Up until the late 1960s, various Catholic Church calendars recognized 7-11 feast days for different saints named Valentine, two of whom were honored on February 14.
Those two Valentines are Valentine of Terni (A.D. 197) and Valentine of Rome (A.D. 269). One was a bishop, the other a priest; and given the way records were kept back then, they might even be the same guy. The story the modern holiday is based on was apparently written in 1260, and involves Valentine of Rome.
Even that story is muddled. According to various origin myths about Valentine's Day, St. Valentine angered Emperor Claudius either by trying to convert him to Christianity, or by helping jailed Christian martyrs. Before he was executed, Valentine sent a letter (the first Valentine) to his beloved, the jailor's daughter.
It's just possible that this myth was conflated with Lupercalia (the feast of Lupercus), a Roman holiday celebrated from February 13-15 to encourage health and fertility. That kind of fits, right? Whatever its origins, just think of Valentine's Day as a special day set aside to celebrate love, and you can't go wrong.
Myth 3: Valentine's Day is for the birds.
Now, here's a myth about Valentine's Day that's open for interpretation. According to English poets Geoffrey Chaucer and John Donne, St. Valentine's Day is when birds chose their mates. This, despite the fact that in England, most birds still haven't returned from their southern digs by mid-February. Oh well.
There's even one myth that claims that the type a bird a girl sees on Valentine's Day will determine the type of man she marries. Here's a sample:
• Blackbird: A man of the cloth
• Bluebird: A man of laughter
• Dove: A man of kindness
• Goldfinch: A man of wealth
• Robin: A man of the sea
• Sparrow: A man of the country
If only it was that easy! Sure, the idea may be fanciful, even a little silly. But old myths about Valentine's Day, like this one, let a few rays of charm into the overly-commercialized mess that the holiday has become, allowing us a glimpse of what it was like -- once upon a time.
*Why yes, Your Humble Writer is male. Why do you ask?
