Today, lovers in most countries of the world celebrate their holiday — St. Valentine's Day. Massively this holiday is celebrated in Western Europe and the USA since the 13th century. In Ukraine — since the early 90s of the last century.
The classic emblem of Valentine's Day is considered to be red roses and the "valentine," which appeared back in the 15th century. Its invention is attributed to Duke Charles of Orleans, who, fighting boredom in prison, composed love messages to his wife. By the 16th century, "valentines" gained great popularity. Nowadays, a "valentine" can quite easily be sent by email, which, by the way, Bill Gates himself once did while courting his future wife.
February 14 — a day of increased labor productivity for postal workers and a day of super-profits for flower and souvenir sellers. In the USA last year on this day, 24 thousand roses were bought per minute. The count of electronic messages on the Internet on February 14 runs into the millions.
And although this holiday numbers not one hundred years, disputes about its origin do not subside to this day. Almost nothing is known about the life of the real Christian Valentine (born in the 3rd century AD in the city of Terni — Roman Empire). It is told that the bishop of Terni, being a young man, did young lovers a special service — helped write letters with declarations of love, reconciled quarreling couples, gave flowers to young spouses. His arrest was allegedly caused by the fact that the Roman emperor Julius Claudius II did not allow soldiers of the imperial legions to fall in love and marry, and Valentine secretly married legionnaires. When Valentine was sitting in prison, he allegedly fell in love with the blind daughter of his executioner — and healed her. However, there is another version: the guard asked Valentine to cure his daughter, and she fell in love with the disgraced priest. Before his execution, he left her a farewell note and signed it: "Your Valentine." Hence — both "valentine" cards and the holiday itself. The date of St. Valentine's execution coincided with Roman festivities in honor of Juno, the goddess of love. This day in Rome was considered the beginning of spring.
Each nation celebrates St. Valentine's Day differently. The British, for example, on St. Valentine's Day send love messages not only to friends and acquaintances but also to their pets. The Japanese turned out to be more original — they transformed February 14 into a kind of "March 8 for men," when gifts are received mainly by the stronger sex.
However, in the history of St. Valentine not everything is smooth to this day. Thus in Saudi Arabia this holiday is officially banned as one that spreads sinful thoughts and disturbs the minds of the younger generation. All stores in the country are forbidden to sell teddy bears, "valentines," and other symbols belonging to this holiday. And flower shops are asked not to sell red roses on this day.