- Feb 7, 2021
- 3 min read

Love it or hate it…. Valentine’s Day is here again

Covid-19 isolation pastimes heart jigsaw puzzle

Valentine’s Day - the most romantic day of the year - when we traditionally show our affection for someone by sending a message of love, is celebrated worldwide on 14th February, but where does the tradition come from?

Named after St. Valentine, widely believed to be a priest from Rome in the third century AD. The story goes that St. Valentine felt that Emperor Claudius II’s ban on marriage was unfair and so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret. Claudius found out and sentenced St. Valentine to death, whilst in prison he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. When he was taken to be killed on 14th February, he sent her a love letter signed “from your Valentine.”

The first Valentine’s Day was in AD 496 and originates from Lupercalia, a Roman festival that celebrated the official start of their springtime. As part of the celebrations, boys drew girls’ names out of a box and they would become girlfriend and boyfriend during the festival and sometimes marry. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St Valentine’s Day and it came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century. Commercially printed cards were being sent by the late 1700s. Valentine’s Day is the second most popular time of year to send cards, with over one billion cards sent globally.

If you are single you may dread the idea of Valentine’s Day, it can make you feel victimised, alone and leave you romanticising about past relationships. The current Covid-19 social restrictions are making life tough enough for single people, without the added pressure of being alone on Valentine’s Day.

These 3 tips can help you to stay emotionally strong if you find it difficult being single on Valentine’s Day:

Plan something fun for the evening – arrange a virtual dinner or cocktail party with your single friends. They’ll be delighted to have a plan too.
Practise gratitude – by focusing on all the positive things and people you have in your life (rather than those you don’t) will remind you that not having a partner on Valentine’s Day really isn’t the end of the world.
Turn your mobile off – Instagram and Facebook will be full of images of couples, so take the evening off from social media and indulge yourself with your favourite film, a large glass of wine and a box of chocolates.

Romantic love is not the only kind of love worth acknowledging. Galentine’s Day was invented to celebrate female friendships and is celebrated on 13th February. In Estonia and Finland, 14th February is known as Friend’s Day, a celebration of platonic love. Whatever your thoughts of Valentine’s Day, love is everywhere and it's worth celebrating.

You may be happy being single but if having a romantic relationship is something you value and would like to pursue, our approachable professional matchmakers are here for you. We are having real success during the pandemic of introducing like-minded single people to each other. All our clients have been personally interviewed and identity checked, giving you the confidence that they are who they say they are and genuine about seeking a relationship. 2021 really can be the year to find the person of your dreams.

If you are looking to meet like-minded, successful single people, contact us today to find out about joining INTRO, the North West's Matchmaking and Personal Introductions Agency. INTRO delivers an honest, professional and confidential matchmaking service to single people in Cheshire, Lancashire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales, the Wirral and across the North West and London. We have a large network of male and female members seeking a relationship.

Request a call back or send us a message so that we can discuss your prospective membership with you. We'd love to hear from you.