There was an English professor at the University of Kentucky, Jack B. Oruch, who studied Valentine’s Day as part of his research on the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (who most of us remember from high school English class). Professor Oruch was convinced that Chaucer was the source of our modern ideas about St. Valentine’s Day. He notes that there was no documented evidence of romantic tradition being linked to St. Valentine before Chaucer (late 14th Century). He believes that Chaucer may have linked St. Valentine to romance out of convenience because his saint’s day (Feb 14) took place at a time when Britons of that time period thought spring began – with birds starting to mate and plants starting to bloom. And because the other February saints had much less poetic names: St. Scholastica, St. Austrebertha, St. Eulalia and St. Eormenhild.
I would have chosen St. Valentine too.
However, not everyone is convinced of this version of events. While compelling, the theory just wasn’t as convincing as popular stories about romantic Romans.
Regardless of who is accurate about the origins of the holiday, Valentine’s Day is now a HUGE deal. It’s a day that many people stress out about.
Rutgers University professor Helen Fisher notes that it has profound extra meaning that hits primitive parts of the brain, causing people (especially those who are single) to stress out about their ‘situation’ It’s a day to reflect on what you’ve have and what you don’t have.
And they stress about something totally materialistic: that their gift isn’t going to measure up to the one they get. The National Retail Federation notes that Americans were projected to spend $18.2 billion (average of $136.57 per person) on candy, flowers, cards, and fancy dinners for Valentine’s Day.
It’s highly probable that this financial point is today’s leading Valentine’s Day stressor.
Although most of this is spend on romantic partners, a sizable amount is dedicated to friends, co-workers, classmates and even pets.
This reflects a change in the holiday from a celebration of
romantic partners to one that is all-inclusive – celebrating all kinds of affections.
Whether you celebrate over a can of fancy tuna with your cat or a quiet, romantic and expensive dinner with your spouse, Valentine’s Day, has had quite an evolution over the years from what professor Oruch believes into a more revenue-producing version described by Professor Fisher.
Source: The NY Times
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