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Every February 14, across the United States, even around the world, and
especially right here in Monroe County, Michigan, candy, flowers and gifts
are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. Who is
St. Valentine, and how did it happen that Valentine's Day was named for him?
It is not exactly known how Valentine's Day came to be. There are three different saints with the Valentine name recognized by the church who were martyred. And there are as many (or more) legends of how Valentine cam to be associated with romance.
Was he the priest who defied Roman Emperor Cladius II by performing
marriages for young lovers in secret? Did he help Christians escape harsh
Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured? Was he the
Valentine who sent letters to his jailor's daughter who visited him while he
was in prison, thereby creating the first Valentine card? No one knows for
sure. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories
emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and romantic figure. It's no
surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular
saints in England and France.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around
the seventeenth century. Americans probably began celebrating Valentine's
Day in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the
first mass-produced valentines in America.According to the Greeting Card
Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year,
making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.
(An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)
Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France,
and Australia.
For the best Valentine flowers and gifts in Monroe Michigan, call on the
professional florist, Monroe County Flowers. We are also a
Toledo Ohio Florist.
