Valentine’s day is commonly associated with traditions and gestures expressing love and affection for those you care about. The holiday falls on February 14th and is named after the mysterious historical figure, St. Valentine.
Stories of St. Valentine’s origin are dark and describe a tale of a priest who married lovers in secret, was imprisoned and set to be executed, and sent out a note signed “From your Valentine” to the jailer’s sick daughter who he helped heal. Another story describes St. Valentine as someone who distributed heart-shaped parchment to soldiers during times of war as messages of positivity to keep their spirits up.
Fast forward hundreds of years later, and a more recent connection to Valentine’s day as we know it today, is a poem called, “The Parlement of Foules”, written by English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Per Ottawa University, the poem “describes a conference of birds that meet to choose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day-February 14.”
Valentine’s messages grew in popularity during the Middle Ages as noblemen would write poems to their wives in the form of a “valentine note”, and by the 18th century it was common for people across all social statuses to exchange “gifts of affection, written notes, and handmade cards.”
Our modern-day valentines can be attributed to the “Mother of the American Valentine,” Esther A. Howland. Esther started her own company, the New England Valentine Company, and mass-produced Valentines cards out of Worchester, Massachusetts, popularizing a few styles we still use today, such as the classic colored-paper and white lace design valentine.
To continue the tradition of declaring your love on Valentine’s day, show your significant other you care by signing up for a free, self-paced online class on communication, commitment, problem solving, and fun and friendship.
The Strong Couples project offers the online classes, for free, in addition to five brief video calls with a trained coach. This educational program is not counseling but teaches couples to use tools that improve their relationship. This program is for couples together six months or longer in all life stages. The Strong Couples project is led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Extension. Ohio State University Extension is a partner of this project.
Build greater intimacy and connection this Valentine’s Day using the Strong Couples project, for a more happily ever after!
Written by: Caitlin Mathews-Smith, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension.
Reviewed by: Kate Shumaker, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension