During the Victorian period, the celebration of Valentine's Day went through an incredible number of changes and transformed into the holiday observed yearly by North Americans in our world today. The unique social mores of the Victorian Age appear thoroughly in the literature,, artwork and advertisements that survive from Victorian Valentine's Day fetes. During this period of time, Valentine's Day went from being a somewhat obscure folk tradition to a widespread societal phenomenon and an important yearly consumer event.
Most people fail to realize how recently Valentine's Day as we know it came to prominence in North American society. The observance of February 14th and its connection to St. Valentine likely began in the 3rd Century of the Common Era, when a Christian monk, St. Valentine, martyred himself after refusing to allow the Roman Emperor Claudius a divorce, due to his belief in the sacrament of Christian marriage. He was executed on February 14th, and the day became a minor Christian holiday in praise of martyrdom, self-sacrifice and Christian (rather than romantic) Love. It celebrated the love of God rather than the love between a man and a woman.
For centuries this concept of Valentine's Day remained largely intact, with the exception of deviations in local customs, and the adaptation of the same sentiment to non-Christian, or “Pagan”, groups of people. Valentine's day did not begin to undergo a major change again until the 13th Century, when the work of English poets began to gradually bestow a new meaning on it. This poetic movement was led by Geoffrey Chaucer, who mentioned birds mating at the time of St. Valentine's Day in his literary work, “The Parliament of Fowls”.
Several other poets and early English authors began to contribute to what become a tradition of bestowing romantic themes on the day. Another example of such an author is Otto de Grandson, who wrote poems about lovers longing for each other, and themes of romantic spring times in conjunction with the February 14th observance.
With the use of the holiday by these poets, the meaning of the word Valentine had drastically changed. For most people, it no longer had much to do with martyrdom. The word “Valentine” was used to refer to one's true love. Folk rituals took place in some instances where lots would be drawn to choose a husband or wife on February 14th. However, the celebration of romantic love on Valentine's Day only became popular amongst aristocratic circles and some small folk groups of peasantry. Furthermore, the practice continued to be isolated in England.
This was the situation as it continued into the beginning of the Victorian Era. In the United States and Canada, some semblances of the English tradition had spilled over into their cultures. However, most people would not have even heard of Valentine's Day in North America before 1840, and if they had they would not have celebrated it. Within the next 20 years however, it would grow from a small exchange of cards to a major commercial enterprise and even a national holiday.
Growing out of remnant of the folk Valentine's rituals of England, Valentine's day cards began to be produced, particularly in the United States, in the 1840s. The incredible speed with which the custom grew can be attributed to two main factors: commercialization and marketing, and the romantic ideal which caused people to look for sentimentality in an increasingly industrialized and sterile society.
The marketing of Valentine's Day by greeting card and publishing companies was cleverly done. Advertisements invoked images of the ancient, mysterious figure of St. Valentine, claiming the celebration of romantic love on February 14th every year was an ancient tradition. However, the truth about who St. Valentine really was remained unknown or even fictionalized. North American people were quick to accept the idea of a romanticized historical figure, celebrating the holiday in order to feel a connection to this mythical past.
In the first couple of years of its celebration in North America, Valentine's Day consisted mostly of the exchange of greeting cards between sweethearts. These cards were often homemade, but greeting card companies were still able to make substantial profits from the holiday. As the 1840s wore on, other valentine's specific wares were sold by greeting card companies, such as puzzle purses , cryptograms containing romantic messages, and embroidered handkerchiefs.
One of the most successful and fascinating marketing ploys that came out of the emergence of the holiday was the sale of Valentine's Writers. Manuals for behaviour were extremely popular in the Victorian Era, and these Valentine's books were no exception. They contained instructions for “how to woo” and how to express one's feelings in proper verse. The books contained sample poems and verses to recite on Valentine's Day, and would typically encourage the reader to come up with their own romantic messages based on these archetypes. Perhaps the most popular of these writers was a thick and thorough book titled, “Strong's Universal Valentine's Writer”. Publishing companies made substantial sales from the marketing of these books.
The marketing and magnitude of Valentine's Day was further advanced later into the period when Valentines were created and exchanged for all kinds of relationships, not just between couples or as a means of wooing. Parents gave Valentines to their children, friends and coworkers exchanged greetings, and eventually the custom spread to even the most distant of relatives. This change allowed greeting card companies to create a number of relationship-specific Valentine's Day cards, and further enhance their sales. The markets expanded rapidly throughout the 1840s before reaching a kind of plateau in the 1850s, which has remained relatively stable to this day.
As Valentine's Day progressed into the 1850s and 1860s, the celebration became more substantial than merely the exchange of greeting cards. Restaurants and other social businesses held special events for the Day, turning the celebration into a kind of romantic ritual. Small businesses and stores were created solely for marketing Valentine's Day products which could appeal to the whole family, making the day a family-friendly event.
In the 1860s, many of the finishing touches were achieved to make Valentine's Day almost identical to what it is today. Most importantly, the holiday was transformed from a modest celebration to an embodiment of all things luxurious. It was in this period that the sale of jewelry for Valentine's day became popular. Advertisements changed from images of modest families to women of luxury wearing fine silks and exquisite jewelry. Similarly, it was at this time the chocolates and flowers became so strongly associated with the holiday.
One important thing to remember when considering all this change is how criticism and satiric Valentine's Day cards also remained popular consistently throughout this period. Many educated critics were baffled that such an obscure tradition became a popular holiday at such an unprecedented pace, and that the commercial success of the holiday was so vast. Clergy were often critical because they believed the original meaning of the holiday, and its association with the concept of martyrdom, should be maintained. Most satire and criticism, however, was aimed at the cheesiness and phoniness of the holiday.
Overall, the impact the Victorian Era had on Valentine's Day was incredible. The holiday changed completely over the course of only two decades, and became the celebration we recognize today.
