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You really can’t beat the classic gift of jewelry for your love on Valentine’s day. If you are daunted by the prospect of buying jewelry for your wife, girlfriend, husband or boyfriend a few suggestions to make the task a little easier are:
Do Your Research before you go shopping – know what she or he likes
Stay within your Budget – it doesn’t have to be expensive to be delightful
Know Her Birthstone – look for that here
Consider Symbols Of Love for Jewelry Gifts – Hearts and birds are always good
Points to Consider When Buying jewelry – know the ring size and what style of jewelry she or he prefers.
Valentine’s Day is now the second largest card sending holiday of the year only preceded by Christmas, having an estimated one billion cards exchanged between lovers annually
The oldest known Valentine’s Day card is preserved for all to see in the British Museum. Apparently whilst Charles, Duke of Orleans was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415 AD he sent the first Valentine’s Day card to his wife.
It is believed Chaucer was the one who first linked Valentine’s Day with romance and that it was during the 14th century that Valentine’s Day became associated with love.
By the 18th century Valentine’s Day had evolved to such an extent that gift giving and hand-made cards became common practice to exchange with the one you loved. Initially this romantic holiday was only celebrated in England but by1840 it had caught on in the US and Valentine’s Day greeting cards began to be commercially produced there, the first cards being sold by Esther A. Howland. Her cards were known for their elaborate lace, ribbons and bright colourful pictures known as “scrap” with Esther being affectionately referred to as the Mother of the Valentines.
Another legend surrounds the current date of 14 February. In ancient Rome there was a pagan fertility festival “Lupercalis/Lupercalia”. In this era, many pagan festivals were renamed in honor of Christian martyrs. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set its observance a day earlier, on February 14. He proclaimed February 14 to be the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century.
Whichever legend you prefer, it resulted in 14 February becoming a day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint. Annually, young Romans observed 14 February as a day when they offered handwritten greetings of affection, known as Valentines, to the women they admired.
The general population did not dare to voice their protest against the emperor even though they were devastated by this decree. The bishop Valentine also believed that the decree was unjust and saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. He countered the emperor’s orders in secrecy. Word soon got around that whenever lovers thought of marrying, they should go to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. He secretly performed many marriages for young Romans. However, his actions could not remain hidden for long and it was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this “friend of lovers,” and had him arrested.
While in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius who had a daughter who was blind. He had heard that Valentine had saintly abilities including the power to heal people. He approached Valentine and asked if he could restore the sight of his blind daughter. One legend has it that Valentine did this through the vehicle of his strong faith.
When Claudius II and Valentine met and it was said that Claudius II was impressed by the dignity and conviction of Valentine. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor about the ban on marriage. Valentine attempted to convert the emperor after having refused to recognize Roman Gods. Claudius II was extremely angry and gave the order to execute Valentine.
While he was in prison, Valentine had developed a deep friendship with Asterius’ daughter and she was grieved to hear of her friend’s imminent death. Legend goes on to say that just before his execution, Valentine signed a farewell message to her “From Your Valentine,” a phrase that has lived forever after. This legend has it that Valentine was executed on February 14, 270 AD.
How Valentine’s Day came about is a story of legends.
So how did the day of romance come into the history books? We do know that a St Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to a Saint Valentine. The modern St. Valentine’s Day celebrations are said to have been derived from ancient Christian and Roman traditions.
One legend comes from the Romans. As a result of the Roman Empire facing crisis from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia, more men were needed to be soldiers and officers to protect the nation from occupations. From 268 to 270 Claudius II was emperor of Rome. When Claudius became the emperor, he decided that marriage made men weak and believed that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, would not make good soldiers. He issued an edict forbidding marriage to assure what he believed to be better quality soldiers.
