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IT’S NEVER WHAT YOU THINK: Saint Valentine’s Day Trivia Quiz

2/11/2022

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When you’ve celebrated an event all your life, there is a tendency to believe you know everything about its origins and traditions. Take Valentine’s Day, for instance. I remember cutting out little red hearts from construction paper seventy-five years ago, then it was more complicated cupid forms. That alone should make me an expert, but life and traditions are never that simple.
​
TAKE THE VALENTINE’S DAY TRIVIA QUIZ

1. VALENTINE’S DAY ORIGINATED FROM:

a. The death of Saint Valentine, Bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy).
b. The birth of Saint Valentine of Rome.
c. The Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia
d. The fifth century AD when Pope Gelasius I created a religious day honoring Saint
   Valentine.


ANSWER
The origins of Saint Valentine's day are rooted in the ancient Romans and their fertility festival of Lupercalia on the Ides of February (15th), dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture. It was a sensuous affair where young women put their names in a big pot and young men simply drew out a name. According to a 2008 article by Glenn Church, "The man did not need to ask for a date, plan a dinner setting or a movie. Just draw a name and off to fornicate."

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In the fifth century Pope Gelasius I outlawed the pagan festival and superimposed a religious day honoring Saint Valentine. The Pope’s action toned down the festivities but, according to scholar Noel Lenski, University of Colorado, “It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on. That didn’t stop it from being a day of fertility and love.”
Image Source: unsettlingthings.com/history-of-valentines-day/

2. WHO WAS ST. VALENTINE’S DAY NAMED AFTER?
a. Saint Valentine, bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) – Executed February 14, between
​    430 and 440 AD
b. Saint Valentine, priest in Rome – Executed February 14, approximately 270 AD
c. Saint Valentine, a martyr in the Roman province of Africa. Executed February 14, Year
    Unknown


ANSWER
Actually, no one knows for sure, but historians agree there was nothing romantic in any of the histories of the three possible early-Christian martyrs (Saints) named Valentine. 

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia there were thirty saints named Valentine. “At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February.”
The only thing known for sure about any of them ‒ and there could be errors in the Church’s early recordkeeping as well ‒ was that they were all martyred on February 14 of different years.
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                           St.  Valentine of Terni                                                        St. Valentine of Rome 
           Image Source: guernseydonkey.com/the-death-of-a-saint
                       Image Source: albionfourthrome.blogspot.com/valentine                                      
​The most accepted of the three as the real “Saint Valentine” possibilities is the Roman priest, and his legend is based on disputable writings from many years later and word of mouth.

According to the legend, under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.”
​
The Emperor took care of this little problem by banning all marriages and engagements in Rome (or perhaps it was only those in the military). Valentine, reacting to the injustice of the decree, continued to perform marriages. When the news got back to the Emperor, Claudius ordered that Valentine be put to death. “Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.” history.com/day-in-history/st-valentine.
There are a number of variations to the legend.

The first mention of St. Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday appeared in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382. With the Medieval period came a new focus on illicit but chaste courtly love, 

3. WHERE DOES THE STYLIZED SHAPE OF THE VALENTINE HEART COME FROM?
a.  It is shaped like a human heart.
b.  Heart shape originated as the symbol of Dionysus, Greek god of grapes, wine, and
​    debauchery, and champion of sexual orgies.
c. It is the shape of Silphium, a well-known, but now extinct, herb widely used in the
    Mediterranean area for spicing food and widely used as an abortive agent for women.

d. The idea is from the 1250 French romance, The Romance of the Pear, written by Thibaut.
e. It is the shape of female body parts: buttocks, heart shaped baby bump, and (Oh, my!)
    the full frontal whoo-hah
​.
ANSWER
Chronologically speaking, the first theory is the heart shape originated as the symbol of Dionysus, Greek god of grapes, wine, and debauchery, and champion of sexual orgies. The god and the Cult of Dionysus are depicted among Mycenaean artifacts the end of the Bronze Age (1600-1100 BC).
​
By the seventh century BC, the city-state of Cyrene (in today’s Lybia), was known to trade in the rare, and now extinct, plant silphium. Silphium, a well-known herb widely use in the Mediterranean area for spicing food, grew only along the Libyan coast where the climate is now considerably drier. It was also widely used as an abortive agent for women. And guess what! Its seeds were shaped like hearts. The shape and plants were even commemorated on Cyrene coins.
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Image Source: edenbrothers.com/?msclkid                     Image Source: bellabeat.com/uncategorized
The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote that the human heart was the center of all human emotions. It is certainly one of the major body parts which sends visceral signals regarding our feelings and moods. If you've ever been in love, or heartbroken, you know you definitely feel it in your heart. That could support the connection between the heart and passion, bnut they don’t look much alike.
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​Image Source: heartattackfaq.com/what-is-heart-attack
The first verifiable association of the heart shape as a symbol of romantic love occurred in 1250 in a French romance (Le Roman de la Poire) by Thibaut. The illustration in this book is earliest known depiction of the human heart in a metaphorical context signifying romantic love.
​

Our last theory or the heart shape origin is the replication of certain female body parts. The Catholic Encyclopedia makes no reference to this matter, and all above are theories advanced by “experts”, but archeological research seems to fall on the side of #e... lady parts.                               
Image Source: demicblog.com/shape-of-butt          Image Source: refinery29.com/heart-shaped-uterus

4. WHAT COLOR ROSES IS BEST TO SEND YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER ON
    VALENTINE’S DAY?
    a.  Red            b. Dark Crimson     c. Lavender         d. Yellow                                                          
    e. White
​          f.  Coral/Peach        g. Orange            h. 
Blue                i. Pink 
ANSWER
The days of picking up a gift at random are gone, Romeo. That’s one of the problems with the internet. There’s too much information out there. Today’s modern woman is probably going to know – or find out – the meaning of each color of the flowers you might give her. While you are fairly safe, there are a few thorns. Read the meanings carefully before deciding what message you want to send.

Red – Symbolizes love and desire; the best because the color means love.
Dark crimson or Black – Symbolizes mourning.
Lavender – Symbolizes love at first sight. 
Yellow – Symbolizes joy, friendship, the promise of a new beginning.
Blue 
– Symbolizes an unattainable dream.
White – Symbolizes purity, innocence, reverence, a new beginning, a fresh start.
Coral or Peach – Symbolizers friendship, modesty, sympathy.
Pink – Symbolizes grace, happiness, gentleness.
Orange 
– Symbolizes desire and enthusiasm.

Remember, any other color than red symbolizes the florist was our of red roses.


4. WHAT IS THE BEST NUMBER OF ROSES TO SEND YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER ON
    VALENTINE’S DAY?

     a. One                      b. Three                        c. Five
     d. Six                              e. Ten                            f. Twelve
     g. Fifteen                       h. Twenty                           i. Twenty-four

You’re getting close but not off the hook yet. If roses are your choice, you need to pay attention to what that the number means as well. Again the best answer depends on where you are in your relationship.

A single rose – Signifies a great compliment; it represents ‘love at first sight’ and is often given to the ladies during the first date. It shows a definite romantic interest.

Three roses – Expresses contentment from being with the other person. This bouquet is often reserved for couples with some mileage behind their backs.

Five roses
– Being given five roses is the moment most women dream about. They symbolize true love. So, if you are on the receiving end of this gift, pinch yourself, it is really happening.

Six roses – Shows the person on the giving end that you want to take the relationship to the next level. This bouquet confesses unrevealed tinges of love and passion.

Ten roses
– Symbolizes two lovers meant for each other; a perfect love.

Twelve roses – A dozen roses symbolizes wholeness; the desire of the gift-giver to spend their whole life with their beloved. It’s equivalent to a marriage proposal.

Fifteen roses – Symbolizes a feeling of regret such as one might harbor following an argument with their special someone.

Twenty roses – Signifies that your love it sincere.

Two dozen ‒ The mind-disarming message of eternal and unconditional love – a genuine gesture of appreciation for the other person. (It also may mean you are rich, considering the price of roses these days.)


5. WHO ORIGINATED THE MODERN DAY VALENTINE’S DAY GREETING CARD?
a. Charles, Duke of Orleans (1415)
b. Hallmark cards 1916
c. Esther Howland, American Business Woman (1840s)
d. King Henry V
e. American Greeting Cards
 
ANSWER
Charles, Duke of Orleans is credited for writing the first Valentine while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt (1415). The note still exists.


Not long after, King Henry V supposedly hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

References indicater written Valentines were popular in the middle ages, although there were, in those days, few others than some nobles and clerics who could read or write. It makes one wonder what “popular” means to the author of that reference.

By the 1800s, however, written and illustrated valentines abounded, but for sure they were all hand-made.  
Tah Dah!
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Esther Allen Howland, born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1828, was the artist and businesswoman responsible for popular-izing Valentine's Day greeting card in America by being the first entrepreneur to mass produce them (thanks, perhaps, to her father Southworth Howland who operated S.A. Howland & Sons,the largest book and stationery store in Worcester, Massachusetts.
​

Esther Howland, Image Source: stampingmadly.com/who-is-esther-howland

Shortly after graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1847, she received a handmade Valentine’s Day card from a colleague of her father’s. The nineteen-year-old was intrigued. She was convinced she could make a much nicer card, and proceeded to make a dozen samples for salesmen to include in her father’s inventory for that period of the year.
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Image Source: victoriana.com/VictorianValentine/

They were very popular. Howland was hoping for at least $200 worth of orders. Instead the orders amounted to $5,000 worth of business. Not bad for the 1850s. She started her first assembly line in Howland family home, but soon had to move to a larger place… and the American Valentine’s greeting card was on its way into the history books.

Hallmark didn’t start mass producing Valentine’s Day cards until 1916.


JUST SAYIN
​
Sources
http://www.keytoumbria.com/Terni/St_Valentine.html
https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/a-history-of-st-valentines-day
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/heart-shaped-uterus
https://www.al.com/living/2018/02/who_was_st_valentine_why_is_he.html
https://www.unsettlingthings.com/the-unsettling-history-of-valentines-day/
https://stampingmadly.com/2013/02/14/who-is-esther-howland-and-why-should-you-care/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded
http://albionfourthrome.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-valentine-of-rome.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Howland
https://guernseydonkey.com/the-death-of-a-saint-and-the-start-of-a-romantic-tradition-the-martyrdom-of-st-valentine/

https://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-is-true-origin-of-valentines-day.html#:~:text=It%20is%20unclear%20the%20origin%20of%20the%20familiar,like%20the%20heart%20shape%20used%20in%20modern%20times.

https://www.heartattackfaq.com/what-is-a-heart-attack?&msclkid=a96974b7bf4718e435b216b6e1c8718b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UNB_DTC_DSE_Awareness_General_BMM_5.23.2020&utm_term=%2Bheart%20%2Bhealth&utm_content=Heart%20Attack%20%26%20Health
Roses
https://www.lolaflora.com/blog/trend/
https://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/g744/flower-meanings/
https://www.almanac.com/content/flower-meanings-language-flowers
https://www.odealarose.com/blog/what-is-the-most-romantic-flower/
https://www.goldflorist.com/pages/rose-color-meanings/Yellow-Rose-Meaning.html
https://www.goldflorist.com/pages/White-Rose-Meaning.html
http://www.homegrown.org/profiles/blogs/do-black-roses-actually-exist-in-nature

https://www.reference.com/world-view/meaning-black-rose-dfdacf5fc81d034a
roseforlove.com/the-meanings-of-black-roses-ezp-38

https://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/flower-meanings
heart shape

https://hometech101360.wordpress.com/2016/06/11/say-it-with-single-rose-learn-its-meaning-too/
ck-https://steemit.com/blog/@sraj/rare-blarose-only-found-in-turkey

http://voices.yahoo.com/origins-valentines-day-heart-symbol-849689.html
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-is-the-origin-of-the-heart-symbol
www.iep.utm.edu/galen/

https://www.edenbrothers.com/?msclkid=4b452ac61fd311e4d61548c206c7a67a&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Seeds&utm_term=seeds%20for%20planting&utm_content=General

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    Author R. Ann Siracusa

    Novelist, retired architect and urban planner, world traveler, quilter, owl collector, devoted wife-mother-grandmother, great-grandmother, and, according to some, wild-assed liberal.

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