Are diamonds forever? Curses, myths and facts
This blog post talks about the history of the phrase ‘diamonds are forever’, cursed stones and facts about these beautiful gemstones.
Sam Self
03/02/2025
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and it can be quite divisive. Some people feel that it’s a wonderful day to celebrate with those they love but some feel that we shouldn’t just celebrate that on one specific day. I’m not sure which side of the fence I’m on! I don’t like the forced nature of the day and refuse to go out for a meal and vastly inflated prices, but I don’t hate it. I do also love the idea of Galentine’s Day which celebrates platonic love for a friends or gals.
So what’s this day of love all about?
The history of Valentine’s Day and St Valentine in particular isn’t all about love and romance. Firstly there wasn’t just one Valentine! At least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred, are recommended as THE Valentine by the Catholic church.
It’s not all hearts and flowers…
Some claim that the Christian church decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February to “Christianize” and effectively eradicate the pagan celebration of Lupercalia.
Back in Roman times, the festival of Lupercalia was celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15. A fertility festival dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture (Faunus), as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. The festival basically involved men slapping women with blood-soaked hides (which they actively enjoyed as it was said to make them fertile). Later bachelors drew women’s names out of a giant urn to see who they were matched with! This sometimes resulted in marriages sort of like an ancient blind date!
Another less than romantic side of Valentine’s Day was the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. Seven Chicago gang members were lined up and shot to death on 14 Feb 1929 by 4 men posing at police officers. No one has ever been formally identified as the shooters, but it has been linked to Capone and even the Chicago police department who wanted revenge for the death of a fellow officer’s son.
So when was the first written protestation of love?
Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine’s Day, but written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until after 1400. During the Middle Ages, 14 February was the beginning of birds’ mating season. This added to the idea that this should be a day for romance. During the 17th century Valentine’s Day began to be more widely celebrated and by the middle of the 18th, in a custom similar to modern Galentines’ Day it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange notes or tokens of affection. By the 1900s due to technological advances, printed cards began to replace written letters.
So what about the dozen red roses as a traditional gift?
It wasn’t until the late 17th century that giving flowers became a popular. King Charles II of Sweden learned the “language of flowers” (which pairs different flowers with specific meanings) on a trip to Persia and he introduce the tradition to Europe. In Victorian era giving flowers became popular with red roses symbolizing deep love which you may remember from an early blog post about my rose earrings.
So will you be celebrating this year? Do you have a special someone or a special friend you want to get a gift for? Then look no further as I have my heart necklace and earrings available as well as many other gothic goodies for your Corpse Bride or Frankenstein’s monster!
Sam Self
Author
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