Valentine's Day: A History

Right after Christmas and the start of the New Year, stores start flooding their shelves with red and pink candy in all shapes and sizes, but mainly hearts. That can only mean one thing. Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it.

Most people either adore or despise that little holiday that rolls around the 14th of February every year, but the real question is where did it originate? Valentine’s Day sometimes get labeled a “Hallmark Holiday” but is that accurate? Keep reading to learn more about how this holiday was created and why it’s not just beneficial to just people in love but businesses as well. If you want to see how the LenovoPRO Community team celebrates this day around the world, and what their top picks of organizations doing good things, check out Staff Picks: Valentine's Day Around the World.

Where did Valentine’s Day Originate?

The truth is no one knows exactly how present-day Valentine’s Day came to be. There are several origin stories of course but not of them seem to fully check out with historians. Of course, many people know the day is named after St. Valentine. He was said to have written the first “Valentine” to a girl he was tutoring, proclaiming his love for her, and then signing it “From your Valentine” which is a phrase still used today.

Another theory is that Pope Gelasius I created Valentine’s Day to replace Lupercalia, a festival used to celebrate the fertility of the Roman god of agriculture. Many also credit Geoffrey Chaucer’s "The Parlement of Foules" and "The Complaint of Mars” for linking love and St. Valentine. We might not know exactly who created Valentine’s Day, but we can all agree that William Shakespeare popularized the holiday.

In the early 1700s, the exchange of Valentines started catching on in North and South America. Esther Howland is credited as one of the first women to mass produce handmade Valentines in the Americas. Her designs consisted of colorful pictures and ribbons similar to designs common today.

In 1910 the enhancement of printing resulted in a card company named Hallmark creating “Valentine” cards and the rest is history. Now 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year in the United States alone according to the Greeting Card Association.

How is Valentine’s Day Celebrated Worldwide?

Valentine’s Day is celebrated globally, and each country has a unique tradition associated with the holiday. In South Africa young women pin the name of their crush on their sleeve so everyone can see it.

Instead of celebrating on the February 14th, in Romania Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 24th and is called Dragobete, the day of the birds are betrothed. On this day, which is a combination of Spring and Valentine’s Day, children pick flowers and/or wash their face in snow in hopes of happiness and health in the new season.

In South Korea, they celebrate not just on February 14th but on the 14th of every month! In Japan rather than the women being the focus, men are the ones showered in gifts and then can return the favor on March 14th which is referred to as White Day.

How are companies profiting off Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day is a holiday known for celebrating love and showering your significant other, or yourself, with gifts. Businesses love this and earn huge profits on couples buying material items to demonstrate their love. It’s not just card companies that take advantage of the hype surrounding the holiday. In fact, greeting cards are not even in the top 5.

The industries leading in profit off Valentine’s Day include jewelry at $3.9 billion, clothing/lingerie at $2.1 billon, flowers at $1.9 billon, and candy at $1.8 billon, gift cards at $1.3 billion and then greeting cards at $933 million. Overall, it’s safe to say billons are being made and it just keeps increasing.

What can small businesses do to take advantage of the holiday?

As a small business there are so many avenues to take to take advantage of the holiday. You don’t have to sell chocolate and heart shaped jewelry to profit off the holiday of love.

Social media is a wonderful way to engage with your customers and create a buzz around the holiday. Offer fun giveaways for people to share stories about how they met their partner or even a spin on the holiday “Why you are your own Valentine.”

Organizations can also use these as a chance to demonstrate love to some of their favorite charities. By supporting other business or charities it shows the consumer that you are interested in seeing other companies prosper.

A way to internally celebrate the holiday is to show love and humor to your employees. On the LenovoPRO community we created fun Valentine’s eCards that are perfect to share with your staff.

Whether you choose to celebrate personally or not, Valentine’s Day is perfect to not only promote your business but show love to your employees. Take advantage of this “Hallmark Holiday” and be creative in spirit of love.

What is your business doing to get attention this Valentine’s Day? Are you running any specific marketing campaigns, sales, or offers? We want to hear your ideas in the comments!

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