Valentine’s Day is the day of celebration of love all across the world. It is the day when people celebrate love culturally, socially and romantically. 14th February every year marks the date of Valentine’s Day. People express their feelings, exchange gifts, flowers, etc. or do something special with their loved ones to showcase their love for them. Weeks are spent planning for the occasion and making sure that everything is ready and perfect for the day.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. — By Helen Keller
History behind Valentine’s Day
Legend of St Valentine
One of the legends says that Valentine was a priest in third-century Rome. When Emperor Claudius outlawed the marriage of single young men as they made better soldiers, Valentine continued to perform marriages of young lovers in secret in defiance. When his actions were found, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Another legend says that an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first Valentine greeting after he fell in love with a young girl who visited him during his confinement.
Origin of Valentine’s Day
The holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid of February Month. The Roman festival, Named Lupercalia, which is celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men (partner) by lottery. Pope Gelasius I, at the end of the 5th century, replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day. It came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century onwards.
Valentine’s Week List
Valentine’s Day may be the main event but the celebration of love starts a week prior to the big V-Day. The reason why February is probably the most awaited month of the year is not only Valentine’s Day but the whole of Valentine’s Week which begins from 7th February every year and ends with Valentine’s Day on 14th February.
| Days | Week Day | Date |
| Rose Day | Sunday | February 7th, 2020 |
| Propose Day | Monday | February 8th, 2020 |
| Chocolate Day | Tuesday | February 9th, 2020 |
| Teddy Day | Wednesday | February 10th, 2020 |
| Promise Day | Thursday | February 11th, 2020 |
| Hug Day | Friday | February 12th, 2020 |
| Kiss Day | Saturday | February 13th, 2020 |
| Valentine’s Day | Sunday | February 14th, 2020 |
Rose Day
“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.” – By Rumi
Rose day which is the first day, marks the beginning of Valentine’s Week. This day is celebrated on 7th February every year and this year 7th February 2021 is falling on a Sunday which gives a perfect opening to a great romantic weekend. People celebrate Rose Day by gifting roses to their partners signifying the everlasting beauty of love in their relationship. Roses are good for expressing not only love but other emotions too. While Red Roses are a symbol of love, Pink roses are given to express admiration. Yellow roses convey the feeling of friendship and white roses are a symbol of a new beginning. Therefore, one can choose to gift any of the above depending on their feelings.
Propose Day
The second day of the week of love is Propose Day. This day is celebrated on 8th February just after Rose Day. On this day, one can propose to his/her loved one. Generally, more of the preparation is required for this day as the proposal needs to be a special one for a greater chance of acceptance. People propose either with roses or with rings, in case of marriage proposals. Apart from this, the setting and decorations also play an important role in the whole scheme of proposing. To make it more special, one can also take the help of music. It is recommended to keep in mind the taste of one’s partner.
Chocolate Day
“All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt” – By Charles M. Schulz
After Propose Day, follows the Chocolate Day. It is celebrated on the third day of Valentine’s Week. This day falls on 9th February and is celebrated by gifting and exchanging chocolates with loved ones. Chocolates have lately become very popular with the young people looking to impress their partners and hence, this day is especially interesting for them. Also, everyone loves chocolates and therefore, it would not be good to miss out on such a thing which is bound to bring happiness to everyone! If one has to gift chocolates to wife/girlfriends, it is better to choose heart-shaped ones or dark chocolates as they give a more delectable feel.
Teddy Day
Teddy Day is celebrated in the fourth day of the Valentine’s week. It follows Chocolate Day. This day is celebrated on 10th February every year. People celebrate the day by gifting cuddly teddy bears to generally their girlfriends or wives to bring a smile to their faces or to remind of them. Teddies are considered to be a girl’s best friends and as such find a place as their special day in the week of love.
Promise Day
“Love is a promise; love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.” – By John Lennon
11th February is celebrated as Promise Day. It is the fifth day of Valentine’s week and is one of the most significant ones. After the light-hearted chocolate and teddy days, this day is a very serious day in terms of a relationship. People make promises to their loved ones. Promises are very serious and hence should always be kept. Make promises which are honest and true from the heart for then only they are easy to keep. One must think carefully and talk about it with their partner on what to promise and should try to fulfill the same promise sincerely. Promises are easy to make and hard to keep. The unfulfilled promises can affect the relationship negatively whereas the kept promises can make a relationship stronger.
Hug Day
“Sometimes it’s better to put love into hugs than to put it into words.”
This is the sixth day of the week of love. This is Hug Day and is celebrated on 12th February. People express their love by hugging each other. Hugs express what words cannot. A hug can cure a great many negative emotions. Also, hugs bring people closer to each other as they are an open show of love, care, and warmth. The motto of the day is to shower people with love by embracing them!
Kiss Day
Someone rightly said, “A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”
Kiss Day is the sixth and the second last day of Valentine’s Week. This day is celebrated on 13th February, a day before the main Valentine’s Day. It is said that kiss is the sweetest form of expression of love and no other way is as good as kissing your loved one. There are different types of kiss which people use to express their feelings. The French kiss and lip to lip kiss is reserved for lovers whereas a kiss on hand can be an indication of admiration and attraction. A kiss on the forehead conveys the feeling of love and a kiss on the cheek is a symbol of affection and is even used for greeting others at some places.
Valentine’s Day
The final and the most important day of the week is Valentine’s Day. It is the namesake of the week and is what people await the most since the start of the month of February. This day marks the end of the week of love. The seventh and final day falls on 14th February every year and is celebrated in the whole world with great enthusiasm. Preparations are made to make the day most memorable. People exchange gifts, greetings, candies, messages, flowers etc. Some make the day special by going on romantic dates while some plan a whole outstation trip to spend quality time. Some just contend with a private dinner at a restaurant whereas some people like to celebrate the day with a party. It all depends on an individual’s taste and that of his/her loved ones. This is the prime day to express one’s love in any way they feel comfortable in. It is a day to celebrate and shower love!
Valentine’s Greetings and trends
Valentine’s greetings have been much popular as far back as the middle ages through the written Valentine greetings began to appear only after 1400. Valentine’s Day which started from the United Kingdom is now celebrated in the whole world. Handwritten notes and handwritten greetings have been replaced by gifts, greeting cards, bigger celebrations, etc. Today, people go a long way to add that something extra special to the celebrations for the day. Digital greeting cards, video, and audio wishes have taken over the greetings. Planning an outstation trip or a celebratory dinner is also a way by which people take out time with their significant others. There are a number of parties that are hosted on Valentine’s Day where couples generally assemble to celebrate the occasion. Apart from this, there are restaurants and hotels which give special discounts for Valentine’s evening. Also, there are event packages provided by various companies if one wants to avail of the services starting from as early as Rose Day. There are different ways to enjoy and celebrate this day of love; it all depends on the way one chooses to!
“There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved.” – By George Sand