The Valentine's Day ? a search for traces of the origin
Every year, on the 14th of February, some put on their pink glasses and celebrate Valentine's Day as a feast for lovers and love. Others, on the other hand, are rather annoyed by the whole fanfare and come out as categorical objectors of the love affair. The retail industry has always sensed a chance to establish a lucrative consumer holiday between Christmas and Easter. And for the flower trade, Valentine's Day is the big thing anyway.
You see, Valentine's Day divides society into many different interest groups. Only in one respect, almost all come to the lowest common denominator: In the total ignorance of the origin of the polarizing festival. In a spontaneous survey in my circle knew exactly zero people, where the festival and the tradition of Blumenschenkens come from. The spectrum of theories ranged from mafia entanglements of the flower trade to relics from the Nazi era. All wrong. Incidentally, I did not know it until recently. In my vague notion, Valentine's Day could have been Mother's Little Brother or a pagan spring greeting, right? But what is there for the smart black? Kaschte ?, As my wife calls our PC always affectionate? Surely he knows more about the 14th of February. So I googled fresh and found out a lot. The following is not a classic FM tip, but the post should provide you with some fresh background information, with which you can surprise everyone in the next conversation about Valentine's Day.
The Catholic Church?
? reclaims the 14th of February for the feast day of the priest Valentin from Italian Ternia. He is said to have performed in spite of state prohibition weddings of lovers in the Christian tradition and have been executed on February 14, 269 in Rome. A century later, the church declared him a martyr and spoke it sacred. In 496, Pope Gelasius officially declared February 14 the "Valentine's Day". Originally the church festival Maria Lichtmess was celebrated on this day, but after the calendar reform the day was suddenly "free". In this respect, the anniversary of the death of Valentin the church was not inconvenient at that time. However, the tradition of this legend is so shaky that the holy day of remembrance was canceled in 1972 from the church calendar.
The popular belief in France and England?
? means that each year on February 14, the mating season of the birds begins. In the 14th century, the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer invented a flowery description of the awakening spring fever of mating poultry: "For this what sent on Seynt Valentyne's day, whan every fowl cometh ther to choose his mate." From Vogelbalz it was only a small (mental) step to the Turtelverhalten love couples, and thus the custom arose to write love letters on Valentine's Day and to hand over small gifts.
Already the Romans?
On February 14, they offered flower offerings for their goddess Juno. As a women's counselor, she allegedly chose the right partner for life with a love oracle. Later, the flower victims then turned into floral gifts for the women.
The spread of Valentine's Day?
? and the associated custom of giving away flowers and small gifts went out in the Middle Ages from England and France. With the great wave of emigration, custom spilled over to America and was well received there. From the English? Day of lovers? In America, Valentine's Day became a symbolic day for family and friendship. Germany is more of a laggard in terms of Valentine's Day: only with the increasing Americanization after World War II did Valentine's Day become known in Germany in the 1950s. In 1950, German florists declared February 14th the "Open Heart Day". In Nuremberg the first official Valentinsball took place in the same year.
Be careful?
? should all unmarried people among you. An old popular belief is that a woman marries the man who first meets her on Valentine's Day. So, if you do not have a keen interest in newspaper delivery or bakery salesmen, stay at home.
What else happened?
Valentine's Day is conveniently nestled between the International World Radio Day on February 13 and the National Day of Independence on the 15th. Things have always happened on Valentine's Day that do not have much to do with love and flowers. At the so-called Valentine's Day massacre on 14.02.1929, six members of a gang hostile to Al Capone die in a hail of bullets in Chicago. Ouch. By contrast, the discovery of the third largest diamond in the world, the Star of Sierra Leone on Valentine's Day 1972, is completely bloodless.
And that on February 14, 1981, the first episode of betting that ?? with Frank Elstner flickering on the German screens, almost belongs to the category? lovable ?. Even me, at that time just 13 years old, remember a muscular Meier, who looked a bit like David Hasselhoff and blew up a hot water bottle until she was PLATZTE.And Frank Elstner has lit a cigarette on a glowing iron rod with the hammer. SMOKING ON TV. Skandalon, but that was just the 80s. This is my personal Valentine's Day highlight to this day and will probably not be beat any more. At around 17 million viewers, the first bet that ?? After all, most of you should know where they were on the evening of Valentine's Day in 1981, right?
