This holiday dates back to Rome and the Saint Valentine. According to Huffington Post in the article “The History (And Present) of Valentine’s Day,” “The most popular account of its origins date back to a temple priest named, not surprisingly, Valentine, a later-to-be-canonized saint who was executed in 270 A.D. by Emperor Claudius II for performing illegal marriage ceremonies on the Roman battlefield.”
Now, millions of people all over the world spend money to buy cards and candy for their loved ones. Many things happened in between to make Valentine’s day the holiday it is today.
The first sighting of a Valentine’s day card was in 1744. According to Time in the article, Valentine’s Day Backlash Is Older Than You Think, In February of 1477, Margery Brews of Norfolk, England sent a letter to her fiancé John Paston calling him “my right well-beloved valentine.” The letter survived, and is now part of the British Library’s collection, where is is currently the oldest known Valentine written in English.
Although this was the first cited Valentine, sending Valentine cards didn’t become popular until the 1840’s. According to the Washington Post in the article Long before Hallmark, Esther Howland created the modern valentine, handwritten cards were popular from 1840-1849 until Esther Howland began to mass produce them. She was an apprentice in her father’s shop when Valentine’s cards began to arrive. She was inspired to make her own business. “With innovations in paper design and card messaging, Howland’s valentine sales generated more than $100,000 in yearly revenue, sustaining her business for decades.”
Hallmark is now one of the largest producer of Valentine cards. Ever since 1916, Hallmark has produced Valentine’s Day cards. Hallmark makes approximately 1,550 different cards, according to Hallmark Corporate.
One Valentine’s staple is Conversation Hearts.
According to Huffington Post in the article, “Conversation Hearts: A Short and Sweet History” NECCO originated the cockle in the 1800’s which was similar to the Conversation Heart but was a cookie with a phrase inside. The idea to have the phrase printed directly onto the heart came later.
According to NECCO, they change phrases based on the current language in our society, they even add sayings. 100,000 Sweethearts are made each day making it the best selling Valentine’s day candy.
The next time you eat Conversation Hearts be sure to keep a lookout for any new phrases added in 2017. C U L8r.
