How did Valentine's Day originate IN THE NETHERLANDS?

[Dulcie]

Oh, hi. I'm procrastinating, again.

Will someone please tell me how Valentine's Day originated IN THE NETHERLANDS? I already know how it originated as a holiday, but our one and only emphasis is how it got started and how it began to be celebrated only in the Netherlands.

Oh, and if you can...provide links to back up your answers. Pretty please?

[sugarpoultry]

Eh, they thought of it first.

[Jodd]

Was it not the celebration of the death of the martyr St Valentine?

And wouldn't it be the same as most holidays? "Hey, they have a holiday, let's celebrate it."

[Dulcie]

Why do you people jest with me?

Originally Posted by sugarpoultry

Eh, they thought of it first.

Sorry, no...

Originally Posted by Jodd

Was it not the celebration of the death of the martyr St Valentine?

And wouldn't it be the same as most holidays? "Hey, they have a holiday, let's celebrate it."

That is true, but that is not what I care about in this assignment.

The only emphasis is the Netherlands. When did they decide to start celebrating it, who decided to start celebrating, and etc. in that country, only.

So, are you saying they starting celebrating it at the same time as everyone else, or are you saying the beginning is the same?

I need details!

[Jodd]

I'd assume the UK would have picked up on it first, and it would have spread through Europe from there. Alternatively, it could have gone West from Asia, but that seems unlikely. Hell, I don't know. I'm guessing.

[Luckz]

Only ugly people live in the UK. They're not smrt enough to pick up on anything, either.

[Nénuë]

I'm sorry to say I do not know a whole lot about this topic, but there's a few things I know boosted Valentine's day in the Netherlands.

I'm sure you're familiar with its general history in America and the UK. I'm not very sure about it's history in the Netherlands before the 1950s.

By the end of the 40s, flower export from the Netherlands was a booming business, it went really well, but the internal demand for flowers had almost come to a full halt. To do something about this, one of the American members of the board of directors of an overarching florist organization (Vereniging De Nederlandse Bloemisterij) returned from America and suggested making Valentine's day or "flower day" a tradition in the Netherlands as well. (a large portion of the flowers were being exported to America)
To do this, they gave flowers or a cake to people who had made themselves useful for the community and called this gift a Valentine's gift, sometimes handed to them by a person referred to as Brother Valentine.

Sending cards (anonymously or not) did not become customary until the 90s or so, when Valentine's day was given a huge boost, most likely by commercialization and globalization, it just blew over. We were a bit late adopting the tradition compared to the surrounding countries.

While originally, Valentine's day was more a friendship day than a love day in the Netherlands, it has been focused on love more and more, especially since the 90s. The friendship aspect is still very much present, though.

That's about all I can offer at the moment.

I'm sorry I can't provide you with links, this is what I remember from my Symbols and Rituals course I did find a something that explains what I just said, but it's in Dutch... I'm not sure if that'll be useful for you.

[Dulcie]

Originally Posted by Nénuë

I'm sorry to say I do not know a whole lot about this topic, but there's a few things I know boosted Valentine's day in the Netherlands.

I'm sure you're familiar with its general history in America and the UK. I'm not very sure about it's history in the Netherlands before the 1950s.

By the end of the 40s, flower export from the Netherlands was a booming business, it went really well, but the internal demand for flowers had almost come to a full halt. To do something about this, one of the American members of the board of directors of an overarching florist organization (Vereniging De Nederlandse Bloemisterij) returned from America and suggested making Valentine's day or "flower day" a tradition in the Netherlands as well. (a large portion of the flowers were being exported to America)
To do this, they gave flowers or a cake to people who had made themselves useful for the community and called this gift a Valentine's gift, sometimes handed to them by a person referred to as Brother Valentine.

Sending cards (anonymously or not) did not become customary until the 90s or so, when Valentine's day was given a huge boost, most likely by commercialization and globalization, it just blew over. We were a bit late adopting the tradition compared to the surrounding countries.

While originally, Valentine's day was more a friendship day than a love day in the Netherlands, it has been focused on love more and more, especially since the 90s. The friendship aspect is still very much present, though.

That's about all I can offer at the moment.

I'm sorry I can't provide you with links, this is what I remember from my Symbols and Rituals course I did find a something that explains what I just said, but it's in Dutch... I'm not sure if that'll be useful for you.

Thank you, Nen! For supplying me with information and actually taking me seriously.

...but I just got home from school, and my project ended up looking pretty and lacking great detail, but that's my fault for procrastinating.

So, err, my project is done, and this thread has served its purpose. So, I'll crawl back into my hole, and you mods can...do what you're supposed to.