Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is 14th February. We don't have old traditions for Valentine's Day in Norway. The latest years we have began to send Valentine's-cards on the net.

Since 1998 we have got new stamps here in Norway specially for the Valentine's Day. 

I think it's nice with Valentine's Day, but you should also do something special to the one you love even during the rest of the year!

What is Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages. One of the earliest popular symbols of the day is Cupid, the Roman god of love, who is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow.

Three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman emperors still demanded that everyone believe in the Roman gods. A Christian priest called Valentine had been thrown in prison for his teachings. On February 14, Valentine was beheaded because he was a Christian and also because he had performed a miracle. He supposed to have cured the jailer's daughter of her blindness. The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter and he signed it "From Your Valentine." Another legend tells that the same Valentine received notes to his jail from children and friends who missed him.

February 14 was also a Roman holiday, held in honour of a goddess. Young men chose the name of a young girl to escort to the festivities. The custom of choosing a sweetheart on this date spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, and then to the early American colonies.

In the year 496 Sain Pope Gelasius I named February 14th as "Valentine's Day".

Valentine's Day is now a day for sweethearts. It is the day that you show your friends or loved one that you care. You can send roses, the flower of love, to someone you think is special. Many people send Valentine-cards, a greeting card named after the notes that St. Valentine received in jail.

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