We all know that Valentine’s Day can be a bit of drag. If you’re in a happy relationship, you have to fret over what to do and what to give. If you’re single, it’s a whole day to feel gloomy about that. Either way you look at it, Valentine’s Day can kind of suck.
It’s not like Valentine’s Day started out on a bright note. The history of Valentine’s Day is bloody and awful. Reportedly, a Roman priest named Valentine began marrying couples in secret after the emperor outlawed marriage. For this heroic gesture, he was brutally martyred. If you don’t believe that legend, another rumored reason for celebrating Valentine’s Day in February during the Middle Ages was to “christianize” a pagan fertility festival. A priest would kill and skin a goat and then walk down the street slapping women and crop fields with the goat skin. This was supposed to bring good fertility. Another gruesome entry into the history of Valentine’s Day.
After the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day got better, right? Well, sort of. Pope Gelasius 1 even declared February 14th St. Valentine’s Day, in the 5th century. It still took a while to catch on. By the 18th century, it was common to exchange cards and small gifts. Soon printed cards took over the market and now it’s estimated that more than a billion cards are distributed on Valentine’s Day!
As we all know and as the history of Valentine’s Day shows us, not every gesture is a winner. Just check out this card from the early 1900’s currently on display in York Castle Museum in England. It features real moustache hair and reads: “For the New Woman! With St. Valentine’s heartiest greetings and best hopes that she will receive another (moustache) with a man attached. “ Ouch, even in the 1900s, Valentine’s Day cards could be rough.
That’s why this year you need to use SendOutCards for your Valentine’s Day cards and gifts. Avoid the bloody history and the icky cards of the past. Find your perfect gift and card, all with ease from your phone. Valentine’s Day may have a terrible history, but your personal Valentine’s Day history doesn’t have to be the same. Celebrate the right way with a card and gift from SendOutCards!