Valentine’s Day

Why do we celebrate love exactly on the 14th of  February and rush out to buy roses, chocolates and cards? And what if we don’t have anyone to give a present to? What if we don’t get anything?

Et glad par som gir valentines gave til hverandre
Et glad par som gir valentines gave til hverandre

The day of love

On the calendar, February 14th is marked as Valentine’s Day. In Sweden, they say Alla hjärtans dag (the day of all hearts). In Norway, some call it Kjærlighetens dag (the day of love). The English name is still used the most commonly, and the celebration of the day itself is also most common in English-speaking countries. In Norway, Valentine’s Day was first mentioned in the newspapers at the end of the 19th century, and since the late 1900s it can be called a tradition. If we want to find the reason for this celebration, we need to travel to Rome in Italy.

En mor og datter som lager valentinsdags gaver
En mor og datter som lager valentinsdags gaver

In honour of Juno

The celebration of February 14th can be traced back to the so-called Juno festival in the Roman Empire. Juno was the most powerful goddess in Roman religion. She was the queen of heaven and was married to the most powerful god, Jupiter. Juno was often worshipped by women and was the protector of wedding and marriage.

In mid-February, the Lupercalia festival was held in Rome. The city was cleansed of all its evil spirits and health and fertility were promoted. The festival was pagan, and Pope Gelasius I wanted Christian customs instead. In the year 496 AD he therefore introduced a remembrance day for Saint Valentine.

 

En statue av en kvinne i Roma
En statue av en kvinne i Roma

St. Valentine

So who was this Valentine? We don’t know for sure. One explanation goes back to around 270 AD when two powerful men named Valentinus supposedly lived. One was a priest and the other a bishop. Both were declared Catholic saints and celebrated on the 14th of February for their good deeds.

A Catholic saint is someone who is considered holy by the Catholic Church either during their lifetime or after their death. The person is considered to be a link between the people and God, and is seen as God’s favourite. To become declared a saint, the person must have performed miracles. The word saint means holy and is placed before the person’s name. In Norway we have St Olav (Olav the Holy).

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En skygge fra en religiøs leder
En skygge fra en religiøs leder

Doctor, priest or sorcerer?

Could the bishop and the priest with the same name actually be the same person? It is hard to know for sure. In addition, there is a story of Valentinus being a doctor who lived around 268 AD. Legend has it that Valentinus helped and healed lots of people, and in fact he was so skilled that the rumours reached as far as the ruler of the empire, Claudius. But, what the emperor didn’t like was that Valentinus was a Christian. The emperor expected Valentinus to worship the old Roman gods.

Valentinus kept his faith, was marked a wizard and taken to judge Asterius. The judge had a daughter who was blind, and with God’s help, Valentinus is said to have given her her sight back. After this, many people turned Christian, and the emperor became angry and put Valentinus in prison, tortured him and eventually killed him.

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Bilde av hender med kjetting og i hendene holder han er kors
Bilde av hender med kjetting og i hendene holder han er kors

A couple of hearts

A similar legend tells the tale of the Emperor Claudius recruiting all unmarried men into the army. The soldiers were not allowed to marry during their service, but the priest Valentinus went against the emperor’s orders. He continued to marry people who loved each other. When this was discovered, Valentinus ended up in the emperor’s dungeon.

Legend has it that during his time as a prisoner, Valentinus fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter. The love was said to have been mutual, but they never got to be with each other. Valentinus was martyred, but before he died on the 14th of February, he wrote a farewell letter to the woman he loved. The letter was signed ‘from your Valentine’.

Rosa bilde med en valentinesdagskort nede i høye hjørne med pynt
Rosa bilde med en valentinesdagskort nede i høye hjørne med pynt

A good mix

We don’t really know who Valentinus was. It is possible that he held several important positions in ancient Rome. Perhaps the day of love is a mixture of the celebration of the goddess Juno, the festival of Lupercalia and the heroism, miracles and faith of Valentinus?

En skygge fra en religiøs leder
En skygge fra en religiøs leder

Red loneliness

One in three Norwegians say that they celebrate Valentine’s Day. Some use the day to take out a friend or a possible significant other. Others see this as an opportunity to propose. Anyway, half of the Norwegian population believes that the celebration has no place in their calendar. There are many reasons for this.

Is this just our economy wanting more? Isn’t the tradition really Catholic? And last but not least: can Valentine’s Day create a divide between those who have a partner and those who don’t? Great expectations can be put on the day. Finally we can both send and get a nice text message to someone we like, write a letter, buy some roses, chocolate or a heart shaped pillow in red velvet, but the day does have some negative sides too.

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What is happiness? What is love?

Could Valentine’s day play a role in making it feel difficult to be single? Every day, also at other times of the year, many people feel that having a partner is the ideal. At the same time, statistics show that the portion of people living on their own is getting higher and higher. Does this mean that these people are unsuccessful? Does this mean that everyone who lives alone is also lonely? Does this mean that they don’t have love in their lives?

Living on your own probably gives you more freedom. Freedom is one of the most important values in our society. So who can decide what happiness is? And when we talk about love, does this only apply to the love between two people? The Bible says that you should love your neighbour as you love yourself. If we do not love ourselves, it can be difficult to love anyone else. On  February 14th, is it acceptable to buy chocolate and eat it on your own?

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En dame sitter alene og koser seg med valentines sjokolade
En dame sitter alene og koser seg med valentines sjokolade

Valentine’s Day in different countries

The traditions around Valentine’s Day vary from country to country. Here is a list of romantic traditions that take place around the world on February 14th.

The United States

Many people in America will go all out when it comes to showing their love for each other. Every year, Americans spend $18 billion on sweets, confections, cards, flowers and jewellery. Cards are the most common gift, but not just between romantic couples. Family, friends and school children also write cards with messages about friendship. America’s most popular Valentine’s sweets are Love Hearts with messages such as ‘be mine’ and ‘kiss me’.

Fun fact: Every year, so many Love Hearts are produced that every person in the world could eat one!

Peru

Instead of giving roses, many people give orchids – the country’s national flower. A lot of people also choose to get married on this day, so that the couples are able to say “yes” on this romantic day.

Great Britain

Like in America, this is an important day, but probably not quite as big as it is in many places in the US. People exchange gifts such as flowers, chocolates and jewellery. In the evening it is common for couples to go out for a nice meal or cook some good food at home.

Finland

In Finland, the day is more about friendship rather than about romantic relationships. If you are single, Finland is the place to be on this day. In Finnish, the day is even called Ystävänpäivä (friend’s day) instead of Valentine’s Day. The official flowers are pink roses.

South Korea and Japan

In these countries, it is the men who get spoiled. On Valentine’s Day, women buy chocolates for their partners, family members and colleagues as a sign of gratitude. But the men’s gratitude is being returned in the following month. March 15th is known as ‘white day’, when men give their wives cake, sweets and flowers.

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En hjerteformet åpen konfekteske og røde roser liggende på et trebord.
En hjerteformet åpen konfekteske og røde roser liggende på et trebord.

Sources:

  • Skjoldli, Jane: helgen i Store norske leksikon på snl.no.
    Hentet 11. januar 2022 fra https://snl.no/helgen

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