Valentine’s Day

Every year anew we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th. But where does this tradition actually come from and what does it mean? Do you already have the right gift for Valentine’s Day?

History:

The original Valentine’s Day comes from a historical memorial day of Bishop Valentine. He was considered a saint by some and many admired his ability to make others happy with his gestures. These were gestures such as secretly marrying Christian couples in love and giving away flowers from his own garden. Since then, the tradition of a celebration of romantic love was established. It was adopted by many countries around the world, so that nowadays millions of people celebrate their love every year.

There is also much to be said about the theories of the origin of Valentine’s Day:

• Firstly, the middle of February is the mating season of birds and spring is approaching. The mating in the animal kingdom was transferred to the customs of humans. So Valentine’s Day symbolically represents the beginning of this time.
• February 14 in the Roman Empire is also said to have been a day of remembrance for Juno, the goddess of birth, marriage and care. On this day, flower offerings were made. Supposedly, young women went to a temple for a love oracle on this occasion. This is often thought to be the origin of Valentine’s Day and its customs.
• Already more than 2000 years ago in Rome there were the Luperkalia. These were the main festival of the herd god Faunus, who was also called Lupercus. Among other things, it was a fertility festival, which was about the fertilization of the land, the herds and the people. Priests gave marriage blessings to married women. Traditionally, the festival took place on February 15, and it can be assumed that this also contributed to today’s rituals surrounding Valentine’s Day.
• According to another theory, the origin of Valentine’s Day can be found in the Middle Ages, among the troubadours in southern France. Knights practiced minnesong, the singing of love poetry, and dedicated it to honored ladies of society. However, this was more of a ritual than a romantic expression of emotion.

Traditions:

Over time, many different meanings and traditions have been created, so now there are many ways around the world to celebrate February 14th. In the USA, Valentine’s Day is celebrated very big and extensively. Here partners give gifts to each other and really should not forget this, otherwise some will face big trouble. On Valentine’s Day in the USA not only the own partner is given attention. One can also show relatives and friends there with Valentine’s Day cards that one thinks of them. Even the children make cards and give them to their best friends to have a gift for Valentine’s Day.

In the past, there was a custom in Japan that only women gave chocolate to men. This may have arisen as a result of a translation error made by a chocolate company during the first campaigns. Especially secretaries give chocolate to their male colleagues. Gifts such as: Greeting cards, flowers or dinner invitations are not common, unlike in Western countries.
Many women feel obliged to give chocolate to all male colleagues, except when the day falls on a Sunday, a holiday. Whereby unpopular employees receive only the „ultra-obligatory“, cheap chocolate.

In Sweden, things get really romantic on Valentine’s Day. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the day there is called the „Day of Hearts“. Couples in love give each other red wine gum hearts there to represent their shared love.

In Finland, however, the day is not observed for couples and lovers, but is considered „Friendship Day.“ Good friends give each other self-written cards to prove the gratitude of their great friendship.

On February 14th in Romania, holidays meet at the same time. So there are no singles who might feel bad on this day and everyone can choose what they want to celebrate. Instead of the Festival of Lovers, on this date also falls the Day of Vintners, Winegrowers and Innkeepers (Trifon Zarezan). On this day, grapevines are pruned and then wine is poured over them.
The people who do not have their own vines are obliged to show solidarity with the winegrowers:
It is said that the more that is drank on this day, the better the next harvest will be. But who dictates that you have to limit yourself to one custom?

In the middle of the 20th century, Valentine’s Day first became known in Germany, at the time when the stadtionierten US soldiers brought the custom from America. Nowadays, lovers give each other especially, most often the famous red rose, to show affection and appreciation for each other.

Gift for Valentine’s Day:

In the countries where Valentine’s Day is celebrated, it is also very common to give each other gifts to show gratitude, appreciation and a lot of love to your partner. Besides time spent together, such as a romantic visit to a restaurant, the most popular gifts are self-written and self-made cards, as well as flowers and chocolates. While the U.S. tends to give rather cheesy things like teddy bears combined with chocolates, in Italy it is very well known to attach a joint love lock to a bridge railing.

A gift for Valentine’s Day in Germany can look very diverse. According to statistics, men are more likely to give flowers (33%) and travel (16%), while women are more likely to give a dinner together (31%) and other personal things (21%).
In general, the significance and importance for a Valentine’s Day gift in Germany is smaller compared to other countries.

Personalized gifts:

However, a personalized gift for Valentine’s Day is also very popular, because this is not only a great proof of love, but it can also be kept for a very long time, unlike flowers and chocolates. The own initials are always suitable for personalized gifts, because thus the own initials can be perfectly engraved on selected gifts.
Not everyone is convinced by the concept of Valentine’s Day, because many do not want to limit their love to a single day. But this is everyone’s own decision, how, when and whether to celebrate Valentine’s Day itself!

Our Keychains:

But in case you celebrate this special day, yet do not have a gift for Valentine’s Day, we have just the thing for you! A personalized and engraved keychain! A keychain is perfect as a gift for Valentine’s Day, because you usually always carry it with you, always thinking of the great person who gave you that joy. If you want, feel free to check out our variations and try different color and engraving options and personalize your own, or your partner’s. You can also get inspired by our inspiration page, where you will find many different design examples of exactly what your keychain could look like. Maybe you’ll find the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.
All the best!

Your LÆDER-TEAM

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram