February 14. The magic of hearts and secret messages works (?)

February 14 is a wonderful holiday. It is ideal for people who eat Olivier for the New Year, give tulips on March 8 and plunge into the ice-hole on Epiphany.

Valentine's Day, of course, is specifically meant for romance.

I actually know someone who starts a new relationship every year on this exact day. So, the magic of hearts and secret messages really does work.

Although it's not entirely clear where the magic comes from.

What I mean is, it's still not clear where this holiday even came from.

There is a popular legend about a Christian priest who secretly married Roman soldiers (not to each other, but still). He performed these marriages in secret because the Roman emperor at the time, Claudius II, believed that a single soldier fought much more bravely than a married man. In Rome, they took compliance with the laws devised by the emperors very seriously, which is why Valentine was executed.

There is also a more dramatic option. As if Valentine were a Roman patrician. And at night he was a secret Christian. And he married his servants in a Christian marriage. Someone denounced Valentin and everyone was arrested. Since Valentine was blue-blooded, the authorities were ready to forgive him for this offense. But no one was going to feel sorry for the servants. 

At that time, the noble patrician agreed to trade his life for that of his subordinates and was executed. Before his death, he asked a blind girl to deliver a note to the outside world (dramatic, but ineffective). As a result, the girl regained her sight and became a beauty.

Both legends are, of course, very appealing and full of love and romance (just right for the holiday). However, no one has ever been able to find any evidence to support them.

What’s more, in 1969, the Catholic Church removed Valentine from the list of saints altogether. The reason was that nothing reliable is known about him or his fate, except that he died by “beheading with a sword.” But how many people were beheaded in Ancient Rome, for reasons both valid and invalid!

How else can February 14 be explained?

Personally, I like the idea that this is a remnant of an ancient Roman festival honoring the goddess of love and the god Faunus (patron of herds), which was celebrated in grand style on February 15.

The festival traditions were dedicated to female fertility. First, animals were sacrificed (naturally), and their hides were used to make whips. Then, completely naked young men would run all over Rome and whip any women they encountered with these whips. The young women willingly submitted to the blows, as they believed this would increase their fertility.

At the end of the celebration, the women also took off their clothes. And that’s where the description of the tradition ends, although I’m sure the traditions themselves continued until morning.

Why not celebrate Valentine's Day? How romantic!

Be that as it may, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated for a long time and consistently. Moreover, it has been celebrated with equal success in the countries of the collective West, in Belarus, and in Russia (despite the disapproval of the Russian Orthodox Church). And this is not just a passing fad of recent years.

On the contrary, as far back as the 19th century, young men and women would write their names on Valentine’s Day cards and then draw lots. This is how random couples were formed, who were supposed to stay together until the end of the day. These “blind” dates often resulted in couples getting married and even having children.

With the development of capitalism, February 14 suffered the same fate as Christmas and All Saints' Day. It became commercialized.

A market economy is very quick to spot opportunities to make money. And once it finds a niche, it won't rest until it has completely filled it.

In the U.S. alone, sales of Valentine's Day-related merchandise are expected to reach around $26 billion in 2024, including 250 million roses and 145 million greeting cards.

But it's all for a reason, because in the United States alone, about 6 million couples tie the knot on this day. St. Valentine (if he ever existed) could never have imagined such a scale!

Basically, if you need an official excuse to take that first step toward the one you love, here it is. On this day, you can take a chance. But not alone—together with millions of other secret admirers who, just like you, will be dropping flowers, stammering, and crumpling Valentine’s cards in their sweaty palms.

But why am I being so sarcastic?

It's a nice holiday, isn't it? It's about love, about sex, about hope.

Spring is coming soon.