Many people relate Valentine’s Day with Cupid and his love bow or Saint Valentine. It’s a day of love and for showing the people in your life just how much you care for them. That’s all good and well of course, but do you know the history of Valentine’s Day?
If you don’t then Day Translations is here to fill you in on everything you need to know about Valentine’s Day and its history. Furthermore, we’ll teach you how to say ‘I love you’ in a few other languages.
Let’s get right into it.
Valentine’s Feast Day – A Historical Overview of St Valentine’s Day
February 14 is the day set for celebrating St Valentine’s Day globally and dates all the way back to the 14th century when it started to be officially recognized as a holiday.
Before the 14th century, there are a few versions of St Valentine’s Day history that is said to have led to how it has now come to be celebrated.
An Ancient Way to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
It is said that in the 5th century, the holiday took its tradition from the Roman holiday called Lupercalia. Lupercalia is an ancient Roman festival held annually on February 15 led by a group of priests called the Luperci. The Lupercalia festival is said to have celebrated the arrival of spring. This festival also highlighted fertility rites as well as the time for a lottery that paired women and men together.
By the end of the 5th century, however, the celebration of Lupercalia became forbidden and was said to be replaced with St Valentine’s Day. But this part of the story is not confirmed.
Saint Valentine
Another version of the history of how Valentine’s Day came about is said to involve 3 Christian Martyrs all named Saint Valentine. Some say a priest who was martyred in 270 CE. It is said that Saint Valentine signed a letter to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and also allegedly healed from blindness, to read ‘From your Valentine’.
Another version of the story has it that Saint Valentine would go against the orders of the emperor of the land and marry couples in secret so that the husbands would be ineligible to go to war. Because of this act, it is said that this is why St Valentine’s Day is a day dedicated to the romantic celebration of love. And a third legend has it that Saint Valentine of Terni, who was a bishop, is who the holiday of St Valentine’s Day has been named after.
Regardless of what the true origins of Valentine’s day celebrations might be, we’re passionate about its existence. Some celebrate it as a Christian holiday. Others celebrate it as a Pagan festival. But this romantic holiday is a feast day that is celebrated all over the world.
How Love Letters Came About
It was in the 1500s that valentine love messages gained popularity. By the 1700s Valentine’s Day became more commercial and printed cards began to circulate. Handwritten notes were quickly going out of fashion.
This is where, Cupid, the Roman god, had his career launch. Hearts became a staple when doing any form of promotion for the annual celebration. A fun fact to take note of also is that February is also the mating season for birds and as a result of this, birds are also a very popular symbol used to commemorate the day.
Of course, in addition to sending and receiving romantic love letters, candy and Valentine’s day flowers are always the go-to gift. They are very popular symbols used to show love and to tell someone how beautiful they are.
How to Say ‘I Love You’ in a Few Languages
Today, Valentine’s day is a very popular holiday right around the world. And because of this, we’ll share with you how to say ‘I love you’ in some of the more popular languages. So here goes:
Spanish – In Spanish there are 2 possible translations for ‘I love you’, they are ‘Te quiero’ and ‘Te amo’. ‘Te quiero’ has a less passionate meaning for love than ‘Te amo’. When you say ‘Te amo’ it expresses a stronger feeling of love.
French – ‘Je t’aime’ is how to say ‘I love you’ in French. Of course, we know that they say French is the language of love. So when saying this, make sure you say it like you mean it.
Dutch -There are about 3 ways to say ‘I love you’ in Dutch. But if you want to express your romantic love for someone, then ‘Ik ben verliefd op je’ says it best.
Portuguese – ‘Eu amo você’’ or ‘Eu te amo’ are two of the more popular ways to express love in Portuguese.
To Conclude …
So now you know a little more about Valentine’s Day and how it originated. We hope that as you celebrate the day of love this year that it will be filled with lots of messages and great gifts.
Of course, if you want to express your love to someone special who speaks a language other than your own, just remember that the Day Translations team is here to help you say ‘I love you’, no matter the language.