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Birds tweet their own Valentine’s message, we humans send cards. Hallmark did not invent this holiday but the card industry has certainly benefitted. Valentine’s Day is the 2nd highest card sending holiday worldwide. Coming in second to Christmas, over one billion Valentine cards are sent annually.
One of the reasons those numbers are so high and continue to grow is the fact that children from the time they enter grade school are encouraged to send Valentine’s cards. You have to send one to everyone in the class, remember that? This seems like a pretty good deal for the card industry. Of course, we start them young in photo booths, too.
Long before the card sending trend, the Romans and the birds had it all going on. We will get to the bird part but first the history lesson. The Romans, who in 84 AD occupied the lands that we now know as England, celebrated a pagan fertility festival in February each year. Those Romans knew how to party!
Fast forward 350 years, the Romans were sent packing, taking their pagan ways with them. Enter Saint Valentine, the patron saint of engaged couples (and also epilepsy), mix it with the DNA that fondly remembered a pagan fertility festival, add birds and the need to celebrate love, and you have a recipe for a holiday that resonance in the hearts of people everywhere. Even the birds tweet about it! So much about this holiday is a mix of history and folklore. Here are just a few to enjoy.
Medieval History #1: During the mid-17th century, even married folk took a ‘Valentine’ and that person was not necessarily their legal significant other. Same is true in a photo booth…the person sitting next to you may not ALWAYS be the love of your life.
Medieval History #2: The name Valentine comes from the Latin word valor, meaning worthy. Wishful thinking or lost in translation, today’s sweethearts might be a little light on the valor and heavy on the convenient. That doesn’t make them less fun in the photo booth.
Medieval History #3: People believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex that they met on Valentine’s Day was the person they were destined to marry. Destiny happens in a photo booth, too. That guy sitting next to you looks pretty good right now, right?
Medieval History #4: Girls would eat unusual foods on Valentine’s Day to make them dream of their future husband. Stop! Close that refrigerator door!
I will admit that consuming things like chocolate can result in some strange dreams, but an easier way to dream of a future husband is to swoon over the guy in the photo strip that is currently stuck to your refrigerator door. Calorie free, too! Oh, that brief moment in the photo booth was so worth it. “Wait, did he just kiss me?”
Medieval History #5: February 14th was long associated with fertility and love even before St. Valentine hijacked the date. This is the birds part. Folklore says that birds choose their mates on February 14th. Probably still do! Not sure what we have in common with birds, but choosing a mate in a photo booth on February 14th might be something to tweet about.
Medieval History #6: It was believed that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. I’m not sure how that works in a place like San Diego, where there are no robins but plenty of sailors. A photo booth is a better place to meet a sailor and maybe a Marine or two.
Cards, chocolate, wine, and kisses are all part Valentine’s Day. Hope you Love Birds make it a happy one.
