Getting fed up of National ‘days’? Was Pirate Day the last straw? Many of these national and international days are invented for commercial reasons and others just encourage us to eat doughnuts/pizza or use our left hands! We are lucky that there is a day that is tailor made for our thoughtful gift that’s been going since Roman times.
It is no secret that Valentine’s Day has become the core of our trade. Each year is different, and who knows what 2021 will hold – and I’m not planning on making any predictions after 2020… When we set up the business three years ago, we had no idea that it would resonate with so many people of all ages and stages. While our date boxes and jars of dates are popular all year round – let’s face it, we love our partners, friends and family every day regardless of the date – Valentine gifts make this our busiest time of year.
Orders fly out of our office in January and February. The printer works overtime on personalised orders, envelopes are stuffed at an exponential rate and the postman staggers to his van at the end of every day. St Valentine would be amazed…
So who is St Valentine?
Legend has it that Emperor Claudius 11 banned marriage for young men because married men didn’t make good soldiers. Valentine was a priest who believed this to be unjust so he held secret marriage ceremonies for young lovers. According to another Christian legend, Valentine was imprisoned. He sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with his jailer’s daughter who visited him in prison. Before his death, it is said he wrote her a love letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression we still use today.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. Many centuries later, it was the Victorians and their passion for sending cards by the newly invented postal service that cemented the commercial success of Valentine’s day.
Now we know that husbands and wives are celebrating their love every week of the year with our romantic gifts. And IF we find ourselves celebrating a lockdown Valentines Day there are plenty of date box options, and reasons to keep opening envelopes and making memories together all year round.
So maybe National Dating Day is needed; just to remind everyone to keep dating throughout the year! Mark it on your calendars!
