Valentines Day Beyond Lovers

Valentine's Day Festival has been associated with lovers since long but in present times the scope of the festival has grown beyond lovers to encompass just anyone and everyone we love. These days, people buy cards, flowers and gifts for their friends, spouse, parents, children, teachers or anyone they find dear and express their love and affection for them.

Those who can only link Valentine's Day with romantic couples will be surprised to know that children under the age of 11 are the biggest consumer of Valentine's Day greeting cards. Survey also reveal that maximum number of Valentine's Day cards sold are given to teachers followed by children, mothers, wives and last of all sweethearts.

Valentine's Day Celebrations Beyond Lovers
In some countries including Canada and US several schools organize classroom get together on Valentine's Day where children gift cards to their friends. Skits and concerts are also organized by children to mark the day. Senior children usually organize Valentine's Day dance parties where they freak out with their friends.

In some families children are encouraged to show love and affection to siblings and other family members on Valentine's Day. People say ‘I love you' to family members with flowers and other gifts. Such rituals help to generate positive feelings for each other and create happiness in family.

Singles who feel depressed on Valentine's Day for not having a partner to celebrate the romantic festival in much popularized manner must strive to make the most of the occasion by celebrating the day with friends or family members. They can express gratitude and affection to friends, colleagues and dear ones for their wonderful presence and support. Organizing single's party and inviting other friends who are single can be another great way of celebrating Valentine's Day beyond lovers.

Some people also like to celebrate Valentine's Day in a constructive manner by performing acts of charity. One can visit orphanage, old age home and hospitals and spend time with those who crave for attention and affection.

The Massacre on Valentine's Day Morning

The Massacre on Valentine's Day Morning
As per plan, around 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, February 14, 1929, Burke's men drove up to the garage of the S-M-C Cartage Company in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in a stolen police car. Of the five shooters, two were in the police uniform and three in ordinary street clothes. Capone's men saw seven of Moran's gang members but not Moran himself. Shooters in police uniform ask Moran's gang members to line up facing the wall. Thinking that their captors to be relatively harmless policemen who have come to raid the place, the gangsters followed the instructions. Burke's shooters instantly shot and killed the men with Thompson submachine guns. Of the seven men killed in the massacre six belonged to Moran's gang - James Clark, Frank and Pete Gusenberg, Adam Meyer, Johnny May and Al Weinshank. Seventh man was an optician - Dr. Reinhardt Schwimmer who enjoyed the company of gangsters.

In order to leave without raising suspicion in the eyes of the possible witnesses, the men in street clothes marched out of the garage with their hands raised. Those in police uniform walked behind them, giving the appearance that the police caught the bootleggers and all was well.

Though the massacre was carried out just as planned, it missed the prime target Moran who was per chance late for the meeting. When Moran was about to reach, he saw the police car pulling up near the garage. Moran retraced to avoid being caught up in the raid.

Aftermath of the Massacre
Only Frank ‘Tight Lips' Gusenberg was found alive by the real police when it reached the crime spot. He too succumbed after arriving at Alexian Brothers Hospital. Gusenberg refused to name his attackers making the case more challenging for the investigating team who had to work extremely hard tracing the clues to establish the plan of the criminal. Prime suspect of the massacre, Al Capone and McGurn proved their alibi and shooters were never identified. Thus, in the absence of concrete proof nobody was ever punished for the dreadful Valentine's Day Massacre.

Valentine Day Massacre

Valentine's Day Massacre is the one of the most publicized incident of gang war slaying in the history. The gruesome incident was a fall out of the rivalry between two notorious criminal gangs of Chicago - the South Side Italian gang led by Al ‘Scarface' Capone and the North Side Irish gang led by George 'Bugs' Moran.Seven of Moran's men lost their life in the well planned out massacre that occurred on St Valentine's Day, February 14, 1929. The shoot out was highly publicized by the media and was much talked about in public but nobody was ever booked for the incident.

The cold-blooded Plan
Al Capone and his dreaded gang member Jack 'Machine Gun' McGurn devised the ghastly plan for the Valentine's Day massacre mainly to eliminate arch rival Moran. The idea was to trick Moran and his gang to visit a warehouse on North Clark Street on the pretext of buying some hijacked bootleg whiskey at cheap price. A team of six men led by Fred ‘Killer' Burke would enter the venue in the disguise of police officers and carry the shoot out. Capone and McGurn were to be away from the scene to establish their alibi.

Consequences
The massacre was widely reported by the media which dubbed it as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre". Ironically, rather than tightening noose against him, media glare helped Al Capone. The continuous front-page coverage provided him a celebrity status, establishing him as a supreme and dreadful gangster. On the other hand, the massacre resulted in the end of Moran's leadership in the North Side and his gang vanished into obscurity.

The incident, however, brought Capone's activities in the eyes of Federal Government and it began to keep a strict eye on him. Capone was at last convicted and imprisoned for seven years on income tax evasion charges in 1931. Capone died in Florida from Syphilis in 1947.

A year after the massacre, Fred Burke's house was raided by the police. In Burke's possession was found the tommy guns used in the Massacre. Though Burke was never brought to Illinois to be tried for the massacre, he was, sentenced to life for the killing of a policeman in Michigan.

The infamous massacre became the subject of the 1959 movie Some Like it Hot and Roger Corman's famous 1967 film The St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Valentine's Day Custom of Exchanging Notes

Valentine's Day Custom of Exchanging Notes
One of the most commonly observed Valentine's Day customs is the exchange of love notes called ‘Valentines'. Initially people used to exchange handwritten notes but starting with the 19th century, the practice of sending hand written notes was replaced by the exchange of mass-produced greeting cards. Gradually, Valentine's Day cards came to be gifted to teachers, siblings, parents, friends and dear ones along with sweethearts. Today, Valentine's Day festival is estimated to be the biggest card-sending occasion after Christmas. Most commonly used pictures in Valentine's Greetings include images of popular Valentine's Day symbols like red roses, hearts and Cupid - the pudgy, winged son of Venus, the goddess of love. These days, there is also a tradition to club Valentine's with tiny candy hearts with affectionate messages printed on them.

Valentine's Day Tradition of Exchanging Gifts
There exists a strong tradition of indulging one's beloved with gifts of love. Some of the most popular gifts exchanged between lovers on Valentine's Day are fresh flowers - mainly roses, chocolates and teddy bears. Fine jewelry is increasingly becoming a popular St Valentine's day gift for women due to the rigorous marketing campaign by diamond industry. Candies, showpieces besides several other things are also gifted to dear ones including grandparents, parents, siblings, teachers and friends. This is because Valentine's Day is increasingly being regarded as the festival that celebrates love between two individuals and not just lovers.

An Occasion to Dine and Wine
The other most traditional way to celebrate Valentine's Day is to go for romantic candlelight dinners with one's Valentine. Many also choose to propose their dates in such a romantic setting and say the golden words, ‘I love you'. The other most emerging tradition is to participate in Valentine's Day balls and dance parties organized by various societies, clubs and restaurants. Many people also organize Valentine's Day Couple's parties in their homes where lovers have a blast in the company of friends. Those without a partner organize Valentine's Day Single's Party and have a good time dancing and playing games with other friends who are single.

Valentine's Day Celebrations in Schools
In several countries including United States and Canada there is a tradition to organize Valentine's Day classroom parties in schools. In such parties children exchange chocolates and Valentine's Day cards with their friends. British children sing special Valentine's Day song and receive candies and chocolates as reward. Senior school children usually organize Valentine's Day dance parties and have fun with friends.

Valentines Day Traditions and Customs

Romantic festival of St Valentine's Day is celebrated with enthusiasm and fond regard in several countries around the world. Most commonly observed Valentine's Day tradition and custom is expressing one's love with an exchange of cards, flowers and gifts. Pampering one's beloved and making a romantic proposal to one's sweetheart is the other popular tradition of the festival that celebrates love.

There are several other Valentine's Day customs and traditions associated with festival but these vary in different countries because of the social and cultural differences. What remains the same everywhere though is celebration of love by lovers. Here we will discuss some of the most commonly observed way of celebrating St Valentine' Day.

Looking for Dates
One of the most popular customs of Valentine's Day observed worldwide is to go on a date with sweetheart. Those without a date start looking for one days before the festival. The custom originated from the popular English belief that birds chose their partners on February 14. For this reason, Valentines Day was called “the Birds' Wedding Day” in parts of Sussex.

Wishing ‘Happy Valentine's Day' to all We Love
In the beginning, Valentine's Day was associated with romantic couples only but in recent times the festival is seen in much larger perspective. Now, people take opportunity of the day to wish ‘Happy Valentine's Day' to anyone they love be it father, mother, teachers, siblings, friends, co-workers or just anyone special to them. The idea behind this tradition is to celebrate love, get love and give love to everyone around us.

Valentines Day in Present Times

Valentines Day in present times has become a huge craze especially amongst the youth in countries around the world. Those in love start planning for the Valentine's Day celebrations with sweetheart days before the festival while those without a lover start looking for a date so that they are able to celebrate the day in the much-romanticized manner. Hype for the festival is further built up by the media and the rigorous advertising campaign run by the cards and gifts marketers.

Euphoria in the Markets
Euphoria for Valentine's Day can be felt days before the festival when the market places start exuding the spirit of the romantic festival. Shops selling cards, flowers and other romantic gifts can be seen decked with Valentine's Day symbols of hearts, cards, rose and cupid. In modern times, jewelers too, try to lure lovers with attractive schemes and bold displays of innovate and eye-catching jewelry. Florists, who get their best business in this time of the year, lure customers with big and beautiful bouquets of exotic flowers.

Frantic shopping by the Lovers
Big hype and euphoria for the Valentine's Day festival has made the occasion a multi-million dollar industry. The festival has turned out to be the biggest card-selling holiday after Christmas in US as youngsters prefer to buy not just one but several cards for their sweetheart and also for their parents, teachers, siblings, friends and other loved ones. Of course the festival is not just restricted to cards in the present consumerist society. People also buy loads of chocolates that come in Valentine's Day special romantic packing besides big bouquets of flowers, in spite of the fact that prices of flowers sky rocket on Valentine's Day because of the huge demand. Other popularValentine's Day gifts include shirts, wallets and perfumes for men and jewelry, jewelry boxes, stuffed toys and romantic show pieces for women. Though most Valentine's Day cards and gifts are delivered by hand those separated by a distance from their beloved on Valentine's Day chose to express their love by sending gifts through various Valentine's Day gift shopping sites. Online shopping on Valentine's Day has therefore turned out to be a big business in modern age of technology.

Romantic and Platonic Celebration of Valentine's Day
In present times, Valentine's Day is not restricted to romantic couples. The festival has come to be known as the day to celebrate love that can be in any form. People therefore take opportunity of the occasion to wish ‘Happy Valentine's Day' to their friends, parents, siblings, teachers or anyone they consider special. Children too celebrate Valentine's Day by organizing concerts and classroom get-togethers.

Valentine's Day Parties and Celebrations
The most popular way of celebrating Valentine's Day is to go for a romantic date with sweetheart. One can find parks and restaurants thronged by lovers holding hands and expressing love. Valentine's Day special parties are also organized by hotels and discotheques to give the lovers an opportunity to celebrate. These days, romantic getaways are turning out to be extremely popular way of celebrating Valentine's Day.

Criticism of Valentine's Day in Present Times
While most people go out of their way to celebrate the day of love and romance, there are many that are very much against the festival. Some feel there is no reason to celebrate love on one particular day as love is to be cherished on all days of the year. People are also very much against the excessive commercialization of the festival. In several countries such as India, womenfolk experience the trauma of eve teasing on the day. Several societies are very much against the festival as they feel it is the ploy by multinationals to impose western cultures on conservative eastern world.

In spite of the mounting criticism, the popularity of Valentine's Day festival is increasing by the year as people to not wish to miss the opportunity to express and celebrate love.

The First Valentine's Day Card

The first known Valentine is said to have been 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. The greeting is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.

Historians also say that Saint Valentine of Rome also sent a letter signed “From your Valentine”, to his sweetheart who was the jailers daughter a day before he was to be executed. This phrase is still popular amongst lovers.

Legends influencing Valentines Day Celebration in Middle Ages
One very popular legend of Valentine's Day states that the festival originated from the Feast of Lupercalia - a fertility festival celebrated in mid February by ancient Roman during pagan times. The festival paired young boys and girls through a lottery system who would fall in love and marry.

Another legend states that a priest called St Valentine lived in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Valentine defied the orders of Claudius order that banned engagements and marriages in Rome and secretly married young boys and girls. Saint Valentine was executed by Claudius on February 14, 498 AD. Over the period of time St Valentine became the patron saint of lovers and they began to celebrate his martyrdom by expressing love for their beloved and exchanging love notes.

Beginning of Birds Mating Season

During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that birds mating season began from February 14. This popular notion added to the idea that the middle of the February celebration of Valentine's Day be celebrated as a day of love and romance. Fourteenth and fifteenth centuries English and French poets and litterateurs through their romantic verses further promoted the concept of linking Valentine's day with romantic love. For instance, a verse by Dame Elizabeth Brewssays,

And, cousin mine, upon Monday is Saint Valentine's Day and every bird chooses himself a mate, and if it like you to come on Thursday night, and make provision that you may abide till then, I trust to God that ye shall speak to my husband and I shall pray that we may bring the matter to a conclusion.

Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, “Parlement of Foules'' writes
''For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day'
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate”

These popular verses further helped to create a romantic image of Valentine's Day festival during the Middle Ages. Lovers, therefore, began to celebrate Valentine's Day by expressing love to their sweethearts with an exchange of love notes and simple gifts such as flowers.

February Celebrations in Ancient Rome

Ancient Romans celebrated the ides of February as the festival of Lupercalia to secure fertility and keep out evil. The Feast of Lupercalia was dedicated to the Roman Gods of Agriculture, Lupercus and Faunus along with Romulus and Remus - the legendary founders of Rome. A precursor of this festival was celebrated on February 14. The day was observed as a holiday in honor of Juno - the Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses and also regarded as the Goddess of Women and Marriage.

During the February Fertility Festival of Lupercus, members of Lupercali an order of the Roman priests would gather in a sacred cave where Romulus and Remus are said to have been nurtured by she-wolf or lupa. To mark the beginning of the festival, priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. Young boys used to slice the goats hide into strips and dipped them in sacrificial blood. Later, boys clad in animal skin would run about the streets of Rome holding pieces of goatskin above their head and gently slapping women and fields with the animal hide. Womenfolk gladly received the slap, as they believed that touch of the goatskin would render them fruitful and bring easy childbirth. Because the youths impersonated male goats (the embodiment of sexuality), the ceremony was believed to be in honor of Fanus.

Another unique custom of Feast of Lupercalia was the pairing of young boys and girls who otherwise lived a strictly separated lives. During the evening, all the young marriageable girls used to place a chit of their name in a big urn. Each young man used to draw out a name of a girl from the urn and became paired with that girl for the rest of the year. Quite often, the paired couple would fall in love and marry.

Later, when Christianity spread through Rome, the custom of finding a mate through lottery was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. People felt that mates should be chosen by sight and not luck. Around 498 AD, Pope Gelasius declared 14th February as Valentine's Day to honor saint Valentine of Rome - the patron saint of love and lovers. Even in present time lovers all over the world celebrate the festival of Valentine's Day with joy and verve.

February Fertility Festivals

The association of middle of February with love and fertility goes back to ancient times. While ancient Athenians celebrated it as the month of Gamelion to celebrate the marriage of Greek Gods - Zeus and Hera, ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia to honor the Roman Gods of fertility - Lupercus and Faunus.

February Celebrations in Ancient Athens
Ancient Athens celebrated the period between mid January and mid February as the month of Gamelion.They dedicated the festival month to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera. In Greek mythology Zeus was the supreme ruler of the ancient Greek Gods while Hera was the Goddess of women, marriage and childbirth.

During the February Fertility Festival of Lupercus, members of Lupercali an order of the Roman priests would gather in a sacred cave where Romulus and Remus are said to have been nurtured by she-wolf or lupa. To mark the beginning of the festival, priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. Young boys used to slice the goats hide into strips and dipped them in sacrificial blood. Later, boys clad in animal skin would run about the streets of Rome holding pieces of goatskin above their head and gently slapping women and fields with the animal hide. Womenfolk gladly received the slap, as they believed that touch of the goatskin would render them fruitful and bring easy childbirth. Because the youths impersonated male goats (the embodiment of sexuality), the ceremony was believed to be in honor of Fanus.