Valentine's Day Mania

Everywhere you look, there are hearts, heart-shaped sweets and plush toys with the "original" inscription I LOVE YOU. People have gone crazy and another gift-buying spree is starting, similar to the Christmas holidays just over a month ago. The market is pressuring us all with a wide range of Valentine's 'stuff', and not everyone can calmly handle shelves full of gaudy junk.

It doesn't come from America!

Although we know relatively little about its origin, we certainly shouldn't look for it in America, which, although it represents its current commercial face, has no historical connection to it.

Valentinus was a Roman Christian priest and physician, living in Rome during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius, who is usually depicted with a chalice in his left hand and a sword in his right. We can also see him in a bishop's robes, healing a boy from epilepsy. He is also the patron saint of travellers, beekeepers and young people. During the reign of Emperor Claudius, Christians were brutally persecuted, and he even forbade soldiers from marrying, as he felt that married men did not perform well on the battlefield.

The figure of the educated Valentine is shrouded in several legends, one of which says that he was imprisoned for treating imprisoned Christians, while another says that the reason for his condemnation was the secret marriage of young Christian couples despite the emperor's ban, for which he was beheaded on 14 February 269. Before his execution in prison, Valentine is said to have fallen in love with the jailer's blind daughter. He allegedly managed to restore her sight. It is said that Valentinus sent the maiden a note before his death with the inscription 'From Your Valentine'. Thus, the first symbolic valentine was created.

St. Valentine's Day, however, only came about a few centuries later. In honour of Bishop Valentine, Pope Gelasius declared it on 14 February 496.

Another legend links the holiday of lovers with Duke Charles of Orleans, who ended up in British captivity. He sent a love message to his wife in his native France through verses. In the 19th century, this message spread throughout the world.

Valentine's Day today

The church is said to have changed this pagan holiday so that St. Valentine, whose feast day was the day before, was entrusted with the protection of engaged and in-love couples. Many legends refer to the fact that birds start looking for their mate at the beginning of February, which is why February 14th is said to be celebrated as a holiday for lovers.

People only started sending Valentine's greetings later, with the first 'valentine' allegedly sent in the 15th century from a London prison by the Duke of Orleans, Charles, to his wife, and the tradition spread mostly in the 19th century, when St. Valentine's greetings began to be mass-produced. Other traders also jumped on this bandwagon and gradually began offering Valentine's sweets, bouquets and toys. The holiday of love began to penetrate us in the 90s of the recently past century in its most controversial form.

The most beautiful is a rose

Each of us needs expressions of love and friendship in the form of kisses or hugs or caresses to live, which awaken the most beautiful feelings in each of us. However, to experience love on one day of the year and buy a bunch of meaningless gifts for it is rather a bit of a joke. Let's not fall into the wave of kitsch madness, but let's remain true to the classic symbol of love, whose origin dates back to the Roman Empire, and that symbol is an ordinary rose! Why is a rose a symbol of love? Where did it come from and what is its history?

In an ancient land, the first tale began. It's said that roses grew from the blood of Adonis after his death. Adonis was consumed by a passionate love for Aphrodite, and that's why roses became a symbol of rebirth and love that conquered death. Since then, the rose has been a sign of heartfelt affection and admiration. But did you know that its significance is much greater? The Romans associated roses with courage on the battlefield, and wreaths of roses were worn during Roman festivities. It is said that Emperor Nero showered his guests with tons of flower petals at dinner, to the point where some of them unfortunately suffocated. It was in Rome that one of the oldest varieties, Rosa gallica, first saw the light of day. It was also customary for newlyweds to wear a wreath of roses on their heads at weddings, and women from high society used rose petals for compresses for beautiful, healthy skin. These flowers simply had a use in every area. A wild rose hung on the doors of the room where secret negotiations were held, this custom comes from the saying sub rosa, which means to keep a secret. The rose was also accepted as a symbol of the blood of Christian martyrs. And the rose is also associated with the Virgin Mary. St. Dominic is said to have founded a rose garden in her honour.

The rose has become known as the national flower of England, Bulgaria or the United States of America.

Passionate and delicate fragrance of roses

Today, bouquets of roses are primarily seen as a symbol of love.Men give them to women to show their affection. And in the eyes of every woman, a spark of joy automatically ignites at the sight of a bouquet of roses. Red roses said it for us in the past, and they say it today too. And that's the most beautiful thing about them. Roses say for us what we feel. But we don't have to reach for a rose in a flower shop. The rose has many forms! And one of the simplest and at the same time more refined is, for example, the scent of a rose. So, instead of a material rose, try reaching for a rose product. Last but not least, they will put a smile on the recipient's face. After all, love is beautiful and everything is easier with a smile. Let the scent of this delicate flower speak for you. Express your feelings and desires with it. The rose will definitely help you with that.

A lovely way to show affection on this day could be a romantic bath together with roses, which your partner is sure to appreciate. You can achieve this with rose bath salts. Treat yourself to a proper, fragrant relaxation session in the bathroom – what could be nicer than sinking into a hot bath after a long day? Invite your partner too, and make it a romantic evening together!