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It’s the month of romance, but
it’s also cold, so why not cuddle
up with your loved one in some
snug sleepwear, share a box of
chocolates and gaze lovingly
at each other over the roses,
cards, and knick knacks millions
of us exchange each year on
February 14th
Hotel Chocolat
£39
Emma Bridgwater Love throw
House of Fraser £140
TK Maxx
£14
141 million Valentine’s
Day cards are
exchanged annually,
making Valentine’s
Day the second-most
popular greeting-card-
giving occasion.
Although no one knows for
sure the exact origin of
Valentine’s Day, it is believed
that it started in the Roman
Empire around 270AD under the
rule of Claudius II. During time
of war, Claudius did not want
men to get married because he
believed it made them weak. It
is said that Bishop Valentine
would perform secret wedding
ceremonies so the men could
marry their sweethearts, and
as a result he was sent to jail.
Legend has it, that he wrote
a love letter to the jailer’s
daughter, signed ‘from your
Valentine’. Bishop Valentine was
put to death on February 14.
During the Middle Ages men and
women would pick names out
of a bowl and that person would
be considered their Valentine.
They would then wear the name
on their sleeve for a week. This
is where the saying ‘wear your
heart on your sleeve’ comes
from.
The oldest known Valentine’s
Day card is on display at the
British Museum and dates back
to the 1400s.
In 1537, Henry VIII declared
Valentine’s Day a public holiday
and chose February 14 as the
official day of celebration.
The first box of chocolates
made for Valentine’s Day was
presented by Richard Cadbury
to his wife in the 1800s. The box
was heart-shaped.
In Shakespeare’s
Romeo &
Juliet
, the Montagues and
Capulets carried out their feud in
Verona. Every year thousands of
Valentine’s Day cards are sent to
Verona, addressed to Juliet.
In France the loterie d’amour,
or ‘drawing for love’ was when
men and women would fill
houses that faced one another,
and then take turns pairing off.
Men who weren’t satisfied with
their match could simply leave
a woman for another, but the
women left unmatched built a
bonfire and would burn pictures
of the men who wronged them
and hurl insults at the opposite
sex. The French government
banned the tradition when it got
out of control.
Graham & Brown lit love shaped art
House of Fraser £50