Is Hallmark the real Cupid?
By the early 20th century, Valentine's Day became a part of the cynical corporate attempts to turn holidays into opportunities to sell everything from candy to flowers to magazine advertisements. But its beginnings were no less deceitful
The story goes something like this: in the fifth century there lived a St Valentine who was imprisoned for some transgression or the other. The jailer's kindly daughter took pity on him, brought him sustenance, and tried to save him. The incarcerated man sent her a note of thanks, signing it: "From your Valentine."
*Record player screeches*
Sadly, a bunch of unromantics who go by the moniker 'historian' claim most of it is untrue. Their first objection is one of logistics: Valentine could not have gotten paper and pen in a jail cell unless it was a miracle, a Valentine's miracle.
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The second issue is illiteracy, which was all the rage back in the fifth century AD, and the jailer's daughter would have been illiterate in all probability.
Most historians argue that like Christmas, Easter, and many other modern holidays, Christians in the past tended to link saint holidays with pagan celebrations to help solidify conversion. Combining these festivals allowed celebrants to continue these centuries-old customs, and over time, their original purposes were forgotten.
This time, the unwitting victim was Lupercalia, a fertility festival celebrated by the Romans in mid-February. During Lupercalia, young men would draw the names of young women from a jar, pairing off couples for the duration of the festival and often leading to marriage.
Around 498 AD, Pope Gelasius officially declared 14 February as St Valentine's Day to honour the martyr Valentinus and to end the pagan celebration.
Then, in the 14th century, the father of English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer, began the trend of associating romantic love and various celebrations of love with Valentine's Day. "Parliament of Fowls", a 699-line poem, is one of the earliest known Valentine poems. This poem about birds choosing their mates started the tradition of sending love notes.
Even The Bard himself got in on it: in Hamlet, Ophelia sings, "Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's Day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine."
By the 17th century, handwritten love notes and small gifts had become popular among friends and lovers in Britain. This tradition gradually spread across Europe, solidifying the day's romantic significance.
By the 18th century, exchanging handmade cards, known as "valentines," had become a common practice in England. These cards were often adorned with romantic verses and elaborate decorations, showcasing the growing commercialisation of the holiday.
The 19th century saw the Industrial Revolution usher in mass production, and Valentine's Day wasn't spared. From Europe, Valentine's Day crossed the Atlantic, gaining popularity in the United States in the 1840s.
The holiday grew in popularity during the decade as stationers began to advertise their valentines in newspapers, which then also wrote about the customary practices of St Valentine's Day. Esther Howland, dubbed the Mother of the Valentine, started selling pre-made cards featuring paper lace, making the tradition more accessible and leading to its widespread commercialisation.
With each passing year, Valentine's Day became more and more "commercial". The British chocolate company Cadbury's added a heart-shaped box of chocolates in the 1860s. In 1907, Hershey's introduced their chocolate 'Kisses'. In 1913, Hallmark started selling their now equally loved and relieved Valentine's Day cards.
Hallmark was founded in 1911 and technology enabled the production of valentines in various colours and textures at a lower cost than ever before.
So, by the early 20th century, Valentine's Day became a part of the cynical corporate attempts to turn holidays into opportunities to sell everything from candy to flowers to magazine advertisements.
Eventually, Valentine's Day started to focus more on children. People started exchanging valentines at school. Hallmark played a significant role in marketing it to elementary students, focusing on the competitive collection of the most valentines rather than a single heartfelt one.
Along with the rise of exchanging cards, complaints about Valentine's Day have been going strong since at least 1847, when the New York Daily Tribune ran an article lamenting the loss of an old-fashioned, non-commercial day of love: "There was a time when Valentine's Day meant something. Then, it was a business of real lovers and there was sweetness under its delicate, shy disguise. Good [graces]! that's gone long ago. Now nobody makes more than a joke of it."
Now, in the US alone, approximately 145 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged industry-wide (not including packaged kids' valentines for classroom exchanges), making Valentine's Day the second-largest holiday for giving greeting cards.
Valentine's Day was popularised in Bangladesh by journalist Shafik Rehman who even named the street in front of his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka, "Love Lane". Rehman was forced to live in exile in London from 1986 to 1992 for his writings. It was there that he first witnessed the celebration of "Valentine's Day," Rehman shared in an earlier interview with Bangladesh Pratidin.
In the '90s, Valentine's Day started to be celebrated extensively in London. Although the holiday by then had become steeped in consumerism, still, lovebirds there embraced the day wholeheartedly.
After returning home in 1993 on Valentine's Day and joining Jaijaidin, Rehman started his attempts at popularising Valentine's Day because he felt we needed a special day that celebrates love.
However, before introducing it in Bangladesh, the word "Saint" from the "Saint Valentine's Day" was dropped. It was instead promoted as "A Day for Love" (Bhalobashar din) in Jaijaidin.
The day was not limited to just romantic love but also included the expression of love between siblings, parents, and children. It was said, "Show your love for your mother on this day. At least make a cup of tea for her today."
During that time, Rehman also solicited writings on Valentine's Day in the newspaper. A large number of readers wrote their own love stories and sent them to Jaijaidin.
However, it remains a somewhat controversial day in Bangladesh. Valentine's Day is not an official holiday in Bangladesh, as many believe it does not gel well with local culture.
Valentine's Day is also considered un-Islamic by certain sections because of its perceived emphasis on the romance between unmarried boys and girls.
Religious and cultural reservations aside, there is a political controversy surrounding this day as well. Before Valentine's Day celebrations, 14 February was observed in Bangladesh as Anti-Autocracy Day.
In 1983, as part of a movement against the then-autocratic government's education policy, students marched towards the Secretariat on 14 February to submit a memorandum. Police opened fire on the procession, killing 10 people. However, with the growing popularity of Valentine's Day celebrations, this politically significant day has been overshadowed.
Weaponry has always been a part of Valentine's Day imagery, thanks to the Greek god of love, Cupid and his bow. However, this time around, weaponry is an even more prominent part of this Valentine's Day as Israeli weapons remain firmly pointed at their neighbour, Palestine. The stories coming out of Gaza this close to Valentine's Day make one question the very concept of love.
Erich Maria Remarque once wrote, "The first bomb (of war), the first explosion, burst in our hearts." War doesn't simply cause violence and suffering; it scares the souls of everyone touched by its fire.
As you celebrate this Valentine's Day with your special someone, spare a thought for those who go into this Valentine with burned earth and scarred hearts.
