The Red Rose Society Blog

Heads up love fans.

Valentine’s day is fast approaching and preparations are well under way, with stacks of boxes waiting to be filled with wonderfully romantic gifts. Our new Valentine specials are up and are going down well, we’ve already had some orders for the cool single rose treats.

Now that InterRose.co.uk supplies the whole of the UK with a shower of wonderful Valentine’s Day gifts every year, people often forget its marvellous history:

1. Jack Valentine

This is a rather strange tradition from Norfolk. This basically involves a father christmas type figure leaving presents for both children and adults. There was also sometimes an opposite character who would play pranks on someone, often by teasing them with a present and then snatching it away. We wouldn’t advise reviving this tradition with your Valentine, we know our gifts are tempting but you need to resist the urge to keep them for yourself!

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2. The Night of Sevens

This is an old Chinese celebration similar to Valentine’s day which occurs on a day when it is said that two stars usually separated by the milky way cross this ‘river’ and meet. It seems that it to involved girls practising ‘domestic arts’ in the hope of finding a good husband so it’s no wonder it has changed a bit in modern times.

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3. Friends day

Some countries (including finland) use the day for the celebration of friendship more than romantic love, so there are a few places in the world where you could get away with watching the [insert favourite sport here] come the fourteenth. Whether you are celebrating friends or a partner, they are sure to appreciate it if you win our valentine’s day competition by simply telling us what you think “T.R.R.S.” should stand for.

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4. Lupercalia

This was an ancient pagan Roman festival of fertility, celebrating the mythical she wolf which mothered Romulus and Remus; the former being the founder of Rome in legend. This festival occurred on the thirteenth to fifteenth of February, overlapping the later celebration of valentine’s day. It also involved slapping people with blood covered strips of sacrificed goat hide though so things have changed a bit.

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5. Courtly love

It is widely accepted that the association of Valentine’s day with romantic love began in the middle ages with the idea of courtly love where men and women were supposed to show subtle admiration for each other while staying ‘just friends’,  but often ended up leading to more ;p. Before this it is likely to have been a more general celebration of all kinds of love, including family.

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6. Mail

In the eighteen hundreds the way Valentine’s cards and gifts were given changed and people began sending them by mail, beginning the trend of sending them anonymously (as well as, shall we say, less reserved messages).

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7. Red roses

Roses have long been symbolic of love, with various cultures using them at weddings and other events.

Originally the white rose was used as the symbol of (particularly new) love as it symbolised purity and innocence which were expected at the time. Various legends from around Europe in particular involve roses changing between white and red, with red representing passion, possibly inspired by blushing. The red rose became more popular when people began to secretively give them as gifts, allowing them to use a colour with a less subtle message.

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8. Saint Valentine

This is a bit of a mysterious one as no-one actually knows for sure who he was. There are actually records of three saints named Valentine associated with the date of February the fourteenth, maybe they are really a trio of romantic superheroes!

All we know for sure is that the legend involves a man defying the will of an emperor and risking (well… receiving) death to marry young couples. You might not be willing to go that far to be romantic this valentines day but I’m sure your Valentine won’t hold it against you, and will find an “I Love You”  balloon just as thoughtful.

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9. Valentine cards

Originally, Valentine greetings often took the form of a spoken message or a gift but some time after fourteen hundred written messages began to appear. These eventually gave way to elaborate cards with lace and ribbons, often having a personal message added to the inside.

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10. Electronic valentines

Want to send someone a gift this Valentine’s day but don’t want to ruin the surprise by suspiciously asking for their address just before? You could always send virtual roses completely free! Embrace the future and enter the matrix.