Roses are red, violets are great. V-Day is almost here, how will you celebrate?

It’s February, which means it is the month of luuuurve. Or rather, the month where the flower, chocolate and card industries make a huge profit. It is essentially another example of current consumerism habits.

Valentine’s Day has had an interesting history. It first started as a celebratory day for lovers in the 14th Century. The post below will go into the history of this red day, and then some suggestions for ways to turn it into something more meaningful.

History of valentine’s day

Historians believe the origins of this day go back as far as to the Ancient Romans, as a pagan festival called Lupercalia.

But who is our Valentine? Well, there are conflicting accounts as to whether there were two or one martyrs called Valentine, or whether he was a priest or bishop, or what exactly this martyr died for. For example, a priest called Valentine was martyred by Emperor Claudius II in 270 CE. Other accounts state a bishop called Valentine from Terni in Italy was martyred. It seems to be one of the same, and so the legend of St Valentine is shrouded in some romantic (and truly ghastly) history.

The legend has it that the night before he died, St Valentine signed a letter to the jailors daughter whom he had befriended with ‘from your Valentine’ while other accounts state he secretly married young couples, defying the emperor, so young men wouldn’t leave to go to war.

Along with being the patron saint for lovers, Valentine is also the patron saint epileptics and beekeepers.

What about the connection of love with roses? Well, this can be traced back to the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite in Greece and Venus in Rome.

Present day

Did you know, approximately 190 million cards are sold for Valentine’s Day in the U.S alone every year? Hallmark started selling cards in 1913 and producing them in 1916 – interesting to think that modern cards being sent have been going on for over 100 years!

Over 50% Americans ‘celebrate’ Valentine’s Day and in 2018, the average person in the U.S spent $143 on Valentine’s Day. Pretty pricey, right?

What about that the cut flower tradition is currently estimated around £33 billion in the UK and $2 billion are spent on flowers, with over 250 million roses produced for this holiday, based on findings from the Society of American Florists.

Not from the heart

Based on some research done by Finder.com, approximately “43 million Americans — about 17% of the population — will get an unwanted Valentine’s Day gift in 2019. This calculates to about $9.5 billion spent on gifts nobody wants.” That is a pretty big figure for just 1 day.

So maybe it is worth checking the below list to see if there is a better option before you click ‘buy’ on that oversized ‘I LOVE YOU’ teddy.

1. Gifts

What does your partner like? Is there something they want or need that they didn’t get for Christmas? Buying them something that they have mentioned shows that you have listened to them and are paying attention to what they say. It also shows that you care about them and want to get them something you know they want and will enjoy. Other options are:

Experiences you can share together, such as finally getting that theatre show in, or going to the cinema.
What about a weekend away in nature or a photography course?
A trip to your favourite brewery or distillery?
A membership to something like National Trust or the Wildlife Trust? Or a donation to their favourite cause?
What about a donation to a charity? Buy a goat for a family in need and share the love with strangers
Or even just something as simple as making them tea and breakfast, or their favourite biscuit or cake?

If none of these work and you want to go traditional chocolates, flowers or teddy bears, please try to go for plastic free options.

For example, Lindt or Green & Black’s chocolates can be bought wrapped in foil and card or paper. Tony’s Chocolonely goes a step further with a mission to make all chocolate 100% slave free as well.

2. Flowers

If you are going to get flowers, why not ask the florist to wrap it plastic free? Or bring the paper you want them to wrap it in with you? A news story from the day you met or for a special date is a sweet alternative for this. Wrapping them in twine is also better than Sellotape / sticky tape. Plus you can reuse it for another gift in the future.

Or, instead of flowers, why not get them a plant or some seeds to grow something. Like your love, it will need nurturing (so corny, I know, but I couldn’t resist).

Alternatively, why not give the gift of a tree?

Some options for tree donations are:

3. Cards

What about making your own card? Or sending an e-card? Check this site out for a list of free e-card sites: https://www.howtogeek.com/395363/the-best-websites-for-sending-free-ecards/

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Why not tie in the seeds and card together with a card with seeds in that you can grow?

Plantable Seed Paper

Hannah Marchant

Please make sure you check where you get these from as they shouldn’t ship abroad to avoid any invasive species, so always search for a local company.

4. Galentine’s or Friendentine’s Day

If you don’t have a significant other and still want to do something, why not celebrate with friends and do a fun activity with them as a group? Paintballing could be fun as a crowd.

Alternate options are for a group dinner or what about a murder mystery party? Those are always a pretty fun evening!

5. Don’t celebrate

I know, that doesn’t sound fun, and everyone else does it so I should, right? Wrong. If you are in a long-term relationship, I am sure you share many times throughout the year where you show your love of one another. Why does it need to be on this day? Not only are you likely to be packed like sardines in certain restaurants, roses will cost more than the dinner and prosecco or champagne is flowing everywhere. You may even witness a Valentine’s Day proposal which could be entertaining, but is that really you as a couple? Do you need to squeeze yourselves between 100s of other couples, hoping to catch the haggard waiter’s eye for a top up? Why not celebrate it on another night? Make it part of your date night routine and forego the cheese.

Final thought

Whatever your decision is, hopefully you have an arsenal of information and can find options to suit all budgets and relationships.

And remember…if you are popping a bottle of bubbles, please bear in mind champagne or sparkling wine can pop at speeds up to 60 mph (97 kilometres per hour*) so it is best to avoid aiming for your partner 😉 Also keep hold of those corks – they can be sent to a company in west midlands called Recorked UK or if in the states, send them off to ReCork. The corks will be given a second lease of life here.

Let’s finish off with this thought - the most important thing you can do for someone, is give them your time. Whether that is spending it with your loved one in person, making them something or simply just showing that you are thinking of them, time is precious. Spend it doing things you love and with people you care about.