Yes, Valentines day! Its the day for lovers. The day meant for sending heart shaped candy’s and red roses to the people you love. Its that special day that is meant to celebrate love. To celebrate love for that special person in your life who is your spouse or your significant other.
Valentine is the day of romance. On this day the paper maches, love letters and candy hearts are used by one and all to express their love for that special one. There is huge demand of gifts on this day. In fact today it is being speculated that it has become just another marketing gimmick used by the major corporate houses.
If we look back into history, you will find the reason and the significance of this day. The valentines day is also known as the St. Valentines day. This day is celebrated by many people all over the world. In catholic history you will come across many variations in the spellings of the name of the saints. They are both known as Valentinus and Valentine. One of these was a bishop of Terni while the other was a roman priest.
Apparently both these priests lived in the same period and also they died on the same day. Eventually, it was St. Valentine who went on to become the lovers patron saint. Originally, if you look at it then there is no direct connection between the saint Valentine and lovers festival. But the fact is both these events take place at the same time of the year.
There are many customs which are associated with this day since the middle ages. One such custom is of serving some special food which referred to as the food of love. These special foods would include items like meats, fruits and other delicacies. They would also use lanterns for decoration on this day and would use the lanterns which resembled jack – o – lanterns.
These lanterns were of firm textures and made of vegetables and fruits. The center of this structure was hollowed so that it could hold a candle. The outside of this lantern like structure would have a carving of a smiling face. They would also wear a detachable love sleeve incorporating it as a part of their costume. They would thus express their love for some special individual.
In modern times, however, the holiday has been transformed. Today, it basically means bestowing your loved ones with all kinds of gifts in order to express your love for them. There are all kinds of gifts bestowed by the lovers but red roses are the quintessential gifts for Valentines day. Apart from the cut roses, there are other flowers bought by people like the carnations and mixed flower bouquets and other kind of single stemmed flowers.
As a rule though, it is the men who buy cut flowers. Women on the other hand buy dried flowers or potted plants. Talking about men and women celebrating this day in their own way, one significant difference is that men buy these gifts only for their wives or their significant other. Women on the other hand buy gifts for their relatives apart from their spouse and lovers.
Though there are different ways used by different people to celebrate this day. But the significance remains the same and the essence of the day remains to be love!