No roses with my valentines, thank you.

 Why so many flowers on Valentine cards?  Has nobody else ever thought it odd that in the middle of February, an interminably cold month, cards are covered in spring flowers at best, and often summer flowers.

Don't tell me that February produces spring or summer flowers elsewhere in the world because the first mention of Valentine's Day was in 1415 by the Duke of Orléans, while imprisoned in the Tower of London.

"Je suis desja d'amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée…"

This is often quoted as the first Valentine but in reality he wrote poetry with several references to Saint Valentine, generally contrasting the sunshine and the mating of birds with his own sorry state in prison.  Now, in the 15th century Europe, you can be sure they weren't importing flowers from warmer countries.  You can also be sure that there was little warm sunshine over the Tower of London, nor mating birds in mid-February.

Going back a little further I find that Chaucer wrote

"For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make."

This was an entirely fictional account of a make-believe tradition, and was written to mark the anniversary of the engagement of Richard II to Anne of Bohemia.  Chaucer wrote a love poem every May.  May!  We may be getting somewhere!  There is a Saint Valentine, a Bishop of Genoa from about 295 whose memorial day is 2 May.   Confusion reigns, and it was assumed in hindsight that Chaucer was referring to 14 February because there were two different martyrs called Valentine and whose commemorative feasts were 14 February.

The more modern tradition of sending greetings on 14 February became popular in 1797 with the publication of "The Young Man's Valentine Writer" but it wasn't until postal services became widely available to all that it really took off.  

So there we have it, flowers and birds became associated with Valentine's Day under false pretences.  You can be sure that florists have never done anything to dispel the notion, and of course card manufacturers and producers of chocolates have since joined the bandwagon, until for many people Valentines and Valentine's Day gifts are general greetings rather than declarations of love.

My valentine

I didn't intend a Valentine's Day post because to me it's not an important event.  I'm slipping this one in while I should be doing other things because I'm intrigued by different ways of marking the day.

When my sons were small they used to come home from school with offerings such as the one above.  That was created with care and love by my elder son, when he could barely write, so it has survived several moves and I've had it a lifetime.  I took it to be a way for the teachers to teach children about significant dates and at the same time have some craft practice.

Then when it comes to teenage years, Valentine cards fly around, and there are great discussions about how many people have got, and more importantly, from whom.  As teenagers become young adults, the pairing off begins and Valentines are for lovers.

And that's the sum total of my experience of Valentine's Day.  As far as I'm concerned, it is a time for lovers to tell each other how much they mean to each other, not a time to send out greetings to all and sundry, not a time for greeting friends and acquaintances. To me, saying "Happy Valentine's Day" sounds odd, a little like saying "Happy Ides of March".  To me, it's a day that some people may mark more or less privately, but by no means everyone.  Yes, couples may go out for a meal together but it would be unlikely, I think, for them to go in a group.

So, finally I get to my point, and that is to ask is Valentine's Day an actual celebration in some countries?  Would you greet you neighbour with "Happy Valentine's Day" in the same way as you would wish them a happy New Year?  In what way is the day marked?