Red roses, cards, red velvet cupcakes, balloons, and teddy bears. Everything we associate with Valentine’s day revolves around this color which we often consider the color of love. Why is everything red on Valentine’s Day? Always interested in the origins of our traditions, we did a little research on the symbolic color and what its variations mean for the spirit of St. Valentine and our proclamation of love on this day.
Legend Has It
Could it have been St. Valentine being jailed and sending a letter to his love signed “From Your Valentine”. It may have just been a symbolic date representing agriculture and marriage. While there are many historical ideas of how the holiday came about, the color red has long been associated with love, passion, and lust.
In the 1840’s, Valentine’s cards assembled with ribbons, lace, and pictures were mass produced for the first time. These ornate tokens of love often incorporated red hearts, the symbol of our emotions and love. Artists have long interpreted the heart as a center of life, pumping blood through our circulatory system and controlling those feelings which seem beyond our control. It has become common to hear of our hearts “skipping a beat” or “aching” at the sight or loss of a loved one. The notion of red symbolizing life and the heart housing all our romantic pulls transformed modern Valentine’s Day into a bright display of the color.
Paint The Roses Red
The gift of red roses also contributes to the symbol of red on Valentine’s Day. The rich, bright color of red roses stands out from all other choices. Meant to ignite passion and desires with its bold shade, the flower has ties with the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, and was often exchanged in lieu of a letter as a representation of passion from one lover to another. Red roses are now commonly gifted in bouquets, but the single red rose acts as an exchange of love.
Artists, poets, and romantics all over the world are constantly influencing the traditions associated with the day of love. February 14th has held a long history of marriages, courtship, and expressing that deep mysterious feeling we call love. No matter what you have planned for your day, we think showing self-love is just as important as letting the people around you know how much they mean to you. We all love to receive red roses and a big red box of chocolates, but let’s not forget to show one another every day that all love is created equal and we all deserve to be wished a Happy Valentine’s Day.
For more history on the origins of Valentine’s Day click here!