St. Valentine’s Day comes once a year and is thought of as the ultimate day for romance, but is that all it is? Learn about Valentine’s Day, its history and lore, and surprising ways of celebrating Valentine’s Day, even if you’re single.
Hearts, chocolates, red roses, and romantic candlelit dinners for lovers have come to symbolize everyone's favorite romantic holiday, Valentine's Day. For other people, Valentine's Day brings up ugly memories of heartbreak, and a reminder that being single isn't always easy. Just what is Valentine's Day though, and what is the history of the day? How can you celebrate it, and most especially how can you find the strength to celebrate Valentine's Day if you're single? How can you include love for friends, family, neighbors, and pets in Valentine’s Day Celebrations? The answers might surprise you. Join us at SpiritualBlossom to read all about Valentine’s Day and find out how to make it a great day, no matter what your relationship status is!
What is Valentine’s Day?
Valentine's Day has become a worldwide holiday that was originally a feast day of a Catholic saint named St. Valentine. It is celebrated on February the 14th, and has become a celebration of romance and a time of giving gifts and decorating with beautiful red and pink hearts. In 2023 about $25 billion was spent on the holiday with the average American spending over $192 for the holiday. Americans spent over $5 billion on jewelry and about 9 1/2 billion dollars of that money is spent on Valentine's gifts that people didn't even want. Flowers, chocolate candies, and cards are three of the most popular gifts given for Valentine's Day. Special lunches and dinners out are a big part of the festivities. Read about the magic of flowers here: All About the Magic of Flowers
The History of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s day was originally established by the Catholic Church in 496 CE that may honor at least three Catholic Saints who have the name of Valentine. The first saint was a priest called St. Valentine of Rome. They say he was martyred in 269 CE. A skull believed to be his including a royal looking crown is kept at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. The second is Saint Valentine of Terni said to be martyred in 273 CE. A third St. Valentine was martyred in Africa. The purpose of the Catholic feast days is to honor the life of the Saints and to remind devotees of the example of holiness they showed in life. Some people believe that two of the Saint Valentine's may be the same person, but we may never know. In the Catholic church's official list of Saints, only the Saint Valentine who is said to be buried on the Via Flaminia road is listed. The Saint is remembered by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and also the Church of England. Saint Valentine is the patron saint of betrothed couples, beekeepers, love, happy marriages, and believe it or not plague. Some people believe he helped to protect against fainting. You might swoon if you find out somebody loves you. Here's the signs that someone loves you: How Do I Know if He Loves Me?
Saint Valentine was said to marry Christian soldiers in secret because it had been forbidden by the emperor Claudius II. Some stories said the emperor never forbade that but the saint did marriages often. Another story says he healed a blind family member of the emperor even though that emperor had condemned him to death. This was said to be on the day before he was killed. They say he cut out paper hearts to give to soldiers and to persecuted Christians as a symbol of his god's love and he reminded people to love one another. It is said that this is how Valentine cards were created. By the 14th and 15th centuries, Valentine's Day was associated with romance and courtly love, and by the 1700s it took on a more romantic spin. Today it is highly commercialized and something most everybody looks forward to. Another holiday people celebrate is Halloween, but it comes from an ancient celebration called Samhain. Read more about Samhain here: All About Samhain
How to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
There are so many ways to celebrate Valentine's Day. Some people just say ”Happy Valentine’s Day” and other people love to decorate. Around the world, there are countless things that you can do, but some people prefer to make their Valentine's Day celebrations all about time with the people that they love. A majority of people like to give gifts on Valentine's Day. You can host a luncheon instead of going out to a restaurant. You can also plan a romantic getaway.
Give Gifts
What better way to show your feelings than with a gift your loved one can keep forever? Statista reported in 2024 that about half of the US shoppers that they surveyed said they would buy chocolate or candy as a gift. So this was believed to be the most shopped for Valentine's Day gift. But about 1/3 of the people who responded said they were going to buy flowers. The article said Americans spent $26 billion on Valentine's Day that year. They also listed cards, making food or drinks at home, visiting a bar or restaurant, jewelry, and clothes including accessories and shoes as gifts that people said that they would buy for Valentine's Day. Read more here: Valentine's Day planned spending on gifts, by recipient U.S. 2024 | Statista
You don't have to give your loved one a conventional gift. You can buy them something unique but if you want to give the person you love something extra special, you can make them a gift. Are you talented at painting? Make a painting for them. Are you good at gardening? Work on their garden for them. Maybe you're not crafty, but you want to do something special for them anyways. Help them to decorate their house, or take them to an animal shelter to adopt a new best friend. There are plenty of people who prefer flowers, candies, or dinners out, but some people want something extra special. You can give crystals too. Some crystals help with anxiety and you can read about that here: The Best Stones for Anxiety
Host a Lunch
Restaurants are a top destination for Valentine's Day, but sometimes they're crowded. It can be expensive to eat out sometimes too. Some people have dietary restrictions and allergies or are on special diets and can't eat fattening restaurant food. You can still treat the people you love to a special meal. Host at home. Romantic dinners are one of the most popular things people do for Valentine's Day, but if you want to do something different, you can make a special lunch instead. Feeding the people you love is one way to manifest love. Read more about how you can manifest love here: How to Manifest Love
If you host a special Valentine's Day luncheon at home, you can invite as many people as you want and still not spend as much money as you would by taking them out to restaurants. What could be more inviting than a meal in your own home? No one can host the people who you love better than you. They are already comfortable in your home, and you know what all their favorite foods are. So, plan a menu of the foods that they love best and the foods that you cook best. Make sure to have plenty of to-go containers for people to take leftovers- if there are any. Use magical herbs in your cooking. Learn how here: Using Magical Spices and Herbs
Apples are a food that symbolize love. What better ingredient to use on Valentine’s Day than apples? Toss peeled, cored, and sliced apples in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Add these apple slices to salads, or dip them in store-bought caramel sauce. You can also make a gorgeous chocolate sauce to dip the apples in. Add a cup of chocolate chips and about a teaspoon of coconut oil to a microwave safe bowl. Heat this in increments of 30 seconds, stirring every time, until the chocolate is melted, and smooth. Make sure not to let it boil. Dip the apple slices in it and spread them on wax paper to cool and set. Your guests will love this sweet treat! What could be sweeter than honey? Read about the divine honey makers, bees, here: What is the Spiritual Significance of Bees?
Plan a Trip
Valentine's Day can be the perfect day to take a trip with someone who you love. Do they have a favorite place to go? Take them there. Is there some place where they have always wanted to go? Make the trip together. You might not need to go very far from home. If it's cold in your hometown, bundle up and go for an enchanting walk on a nature trail, enjoying the beautiful frost-touched landscape. Take your loved one to see some best friends who you've not had a chance to visit in a while. Take them to their favorite store, and stay as long as they want. The most romantic trip for Valentine's Day is to take your loved one to the place where you first met. They will be excited and surprised that you remembered. Maybe your loved one is your soulmate. Read all about soulmates here: What’s a Soulmate/How Do You Find Them?
What if I’m Single?
Valentine’s Day is believed by some people to be all about romance, and those who are single can’t participate. Actually, the day is all about love and showing people they are cared for. Love is about more than romance, after all. We love our friends, family, and our community. We love our children, and fur babies. There are so many people we love besides just romantic partners, and Valentine’s Day is about love for all of those people, too. So, you see, Valentine's Day isn’t just for couples, or people who want to celebrate the life of a saint. It’s for everybody. Read about the love of friends here: All About the Love of Friends
So, how do you celebrate Valentine’s Day if you are single? If you are single or want to show love in a non-romantic way on Valentine’s Day, there are a few surprising things you can do. Visit somebody who is lonely and make them feel loved. Be a secret admirer and spread love. Best of all, you can do something kind for animals to share love with them.
Visit Someone Lonely
When you're single and you don't want to be, sometimes you can feel like the loneliest person in the world, but would you believe that no matter how lonely you are there's probably somebody who is lonelier than you are? There are some people who don't feel well and can't get out too much. There are some people who are new in town and have not had a chance to make very many friends yet. There are some people who work all the time and have very little energy to go out. Then some people are shy, and they won't reach out unless you reach out to them. For Valentine's Day, set aside time to spend with one of these lonely people. You will be their favorite Valentine. Venus is one of the goddesses of love and peace. Read about her and other deities of peace here: Athena and Other Gods and Goddesses of Peace
Be a Secret Admirer
One special way that you can be somebody's Valentine is by secret. Yes, they don't necessarily have to know that you're doing something for them. Leave an anonymous gift for that coworker who just went through a breakup. Anonymously drop off some candy or sweet treats some place. Leave some flowers for your neighbor. Leave some money for somebody who you know needs it and don't tell them it was you. Small kindnesses done anonymously in the spirit of love wi'll make you a secret Valentine who really makes a difference. Can you keep secrets? Learn how here: Is Keeping Secrets Bad?
Make an Animal’s Day
Besides giving love to human beings, you could do kind things for animals and be their Valentine. You can volunteer at an animal shelter to clean or spend time with the animals on Valentine's Day. Hold cats, walk dogs, or encourage people to adopt. Donate money to a charitable cause that helps animals in need. You can probably even find one in your own hometown. Offer to help a disabled person's pet. Take the pet for a long walk in the park, or play fetch with them. Give your elderly neighbor’s dog a bath, or brush their cat. Animals like treats too. Drop off boxes and bags of treats at your local animal shelter, or give treats and gifts to your own pets. You will be their favorite Valentine. You can do something kind for your spirit animal too. Read all about spirit animals here: Which Animal is My Spirit Animal?
What is the meaning of Valentine’s Day? Is it a day when we get glamorous gifts from people, and post perfect photos of our fabulous love lives? For some people it is, but the true meaning of Valentine’s Day goes back to one word- love. It’s about sharing love with the people in our lives, and for some people, gifts are involved. Don’t think that if you’re single, you can’t be a Valentine. You can give gifts, host a gathering, or even plan a trip with the people you love. Just don’t forget those who might not be blessed with as many loved ones as you. For Valentine’s Day, visit someone lonely, be a secret admirer, and do something kind for animals. You can be the greatest Valentine ever.
If you’re looking for more ways to show people you love them, give us a call. one of our talented psychics can give you tips to strengthen all your relationships today.
