In the United Kingdom, this day is not limited to lovers but it is also a day to celebrate fraternal love, friendship and family relationships.
Tradition mandates that lovers exchange postcards with love phrases, also called Valentine's Day Cards.
I have done some research and here are my findings.
The card exchange is a tradition that began in the 18th century and still exists today in the digital age.
Heart-shaped sweets with little love words on them are very popular in Great Britain and the United States alike.
In the UK Love Hearts while overseas Sweethearts are the modern version of the conversation lozenges of the Victorian period and they are basically wafers with phrases and love quotes.
The origins of the celebration of Valentine's Day date back to the Romans apparently.
In ancient Rome, in fact, it was customary to celebrate, in the month of February, the faun god Lupercus, a rural deity of Roman mythology invoked to protect fertility.
It is with the advent of Christianity that the pagan myth of Luperco was replaced with that of bishop Saint Valentine, martyr and protector of young lovers.
Therefore, already in the early Middle Ages the anniversary of the Saint came to be identified with a celebration of love.
In medieval England, Valentine's Day was already an important tradition and during this day the man used to give his beloved a token of love, or, in some areas, he used to knock on her door, leaving a gift package, and running away immediately afterwards.
But it was in the 1700s, with the now full diffusion of printing and typographies, that Valentines, greeting and love cards characterized by romantic phrases, began to be printed and distributed.
London Valentine’s Day offer
These messages became a small classic of British clandestine love and they were often viewed with suspicion by the British puritan ethic.
Even in the seventeenth century, unmarried girls used to decorate their pillows with laurel leaves soaked in rose water on the eve of Valentine's Day and recite prayers addressed to the Saint.
On the morning of February 14th, the girls used to look out of the window waving handkerchiefs at passers-by.
Tradition dictated that the first celibate man to see the girl could aspire to become her husband.
Today Valentine's Day is a very popular holiday period for couples in the United Kingdom.
Lovers book restaurants and spa packages, exchange gifts such as chocolates, flowers or other.
In London, people meet to exchange thoughts and gifts at cafes, parks or restaurants and very often they attach to the gifts a phrase from Shakespeare.
Not everyone celebrates love on February 14th. In Wales it is celebrated on January 25th and with another patron saint, Saint Dwynwen.
The tradition, however, does not stop at the change of date: the men give wooden spoons hand-carved according to the ancient custom of Welsh sailors who carved artifacts while they were at sea waiting to return home.
I personally do not celebrate it much as I think it is a bit too commercial nowadays.
Supermarkets, florists and many shops start displaying Valentine’s Day goods right after New Year’s Day so people are growing tired of hearts and roses by the time Mid-February comes along.
I think love shall be celebrated year round perhaps surprising the partner or a loved one with an unexpected gift.
Restaurants in London also have special menus on the 14th of February and it’s not the right day to be eating out alone or else you’ll be frowned upon!
