Once again, the day has come to celebrate the Feast of Saint Valentine. And originally it was a Christian feast day honoring two early saints named Valentinus who actually were martyred. But the day became linked to romanticism by virtue of the great medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer, better known for what is considered his magnum opus, a collection of stories known as The Canterbury Tales, most written in verse, though some were in prose. But it was the following lines Chaucer wrote in Parlement of Foules that first associated Valentine’s Day with romantic love as we know it:
“For this was on seynt Volantynys day, Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make”.
His Middle English vernacular is close to our modern-day English, as you can see in the following translation:
“For this was on St. Valentine’s Day, When every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”
And many mates are now chosen on this traditional day of love, as well as that choice being consummated by getting married on the actual day. Lynndee and I just celebrated our anniversary and we actually considered getting married on Valentine’s Day, but it fell on a Monday and that wouldn’t have worked. That’s too bad because Lynndee loves the day. In her home country, the Philippines, the day is known as araw ng mga puso, literally, the day of the hearts, and she just celebrated the day early in her own way by posting a cute blog.
I can’t help but think back on those days as a young kid when we gave Valentine’s cards at school. For some unknown reason to me, it was made into such a big deal, but as an elementary student, the little boy I was had no idea of what importance the day would hold when I became a big boy. The one thing I loved so much was the candy, especially the conversation hearts, and while doing my shopping the other day, I came across a huge bag of ’em and just had to buy them, a self-gift to wish me a Happy Valentine’s Day, the same wish I send out to all of you faithful followers. Hope y’all have a LOVELY day!
Conversation Hearts are my favorite Valentine’s Day candy. I like the taste okay, but I adore their little messages. They’re so sweet.
My husband and I are not big fans of Valentine’s Day, but I adore learning the history behind it. Thank you so much for sharing such awesome information!
You’re welcome, Marcie. Glad you enjoyed my post.
I love that your brought up The Canterbury Tales, a lot of people have no idea what I’m talking about when I say the name. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks for you kind words, Ashley. I appreciate meeting another who actually knows of “The Canterbury Tales”. And a Happy Valentine’s Day to you too!
I LOVE Middle English and love articles where I can learn something new! Thank you for this it was quite enjoyable and different from most Valentine’s posts out there right now! Awesome! ( a word never used in Middle English) lol
And thank you for your kind words and compliments. I’m glad that I wrote something that brought pleasure to another.
It’s funny, I was just telling my friend yesterday how much I loved those conversation hearts as a child.
They taste awful, but yet we always use those conversation hearts and they are basically a Valentine’s Day staple! Lol
I always loved our Valentine’s day at school too. It was always fun exchanging those cute cards and getting extra treats. My youngest had his party yesterday.
It’s always interesting to know the history behind certain holidays. I’m not a huge Valentine’s Day person but I do love me some chocolate on the holiday.
I remember being in elementary school and celebrating Valentines Day. It was such a fun time as kids. I remember the conversation hearts were my favorite. This year my little one celebrated it in school, to see the excitement she had when she came home with all her cards.
I used to so look forward to doing Valentine’s Day cards in class when I was younger! Now I’m 36 and I really can take it or leave it. My boyfriend and I have Christmas, his birthday, my sons birthday and my birthday so close together in the first 2 months, we just kind of skip it!
We didn’t really do anything special for Valentine’s this year, but we did have the whole family together for the first time, so that was nice. We just hung out with the kiddos and enjoyed the evening.