Editing Valentine's Day (section)

=== Modern times ===
[[File:Card; valentine card - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|left|An English Victorian era Valentine card located in the [[Museum of London]]]]
In 1797, a British publisher issued ''The Young Man's Valentine Writer'', which contained scores of suggested sentimental [[Verse (poetry)|verses]] for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called "mechanical valentines". Paper Valentines became so popular in England in the early 19th century that they were assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century.<ref>{{cite web |author=Vivian Krug Hotchkiss|url=http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/vals.html |title=Emotionscards.com |publisher=Emotionscards.com |date=February 14, 1910 |access-date=August 6, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807022738/http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/vals.html |archive-date=August 7, 2011 }}</ref> In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in the United Kingdom, despite postage being expensive.<ref>[http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/1218/ "Valentine cards reveal Britain's relationship history"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415135805/http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/1218/ |date=April 15, 2016 }}, Manchester Metropolitan University, Retrieved February 8, 2014</ref>

A [[Penny Post#United Kingdom|reduction in postal rates]] following [[Rowland Hill (postal reformer)|Sir Rowland Hill]]'s postal reforms with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp ([[Penny Black]]) saw the number of Valentines posted increase, with 400,000 sent just one year after its introduction, and ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing Valentines.<ref name="Vincent">{{cite book|last1=Vincent|first1=David|title=Literacy and Popular Culture: England 1750–1914|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=44, 45}}</ref> That made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly [[Victorian era|Victorian]].<ref>Charles Panati (1987). Extraordinary origins of everyday things. p.57. Perennial Library, 1987</ref> Production increased, "Cupid's Manufactory" as [[Charles Dickens]] termed it, with over 3,000 women employed in manufacturing.<ref name="Vincent"/> The [[Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection]] at [[Manchester Metropolitan University]] gathers 450 Valentine's Day cards dating from early 19th century Britain, printed by the major publishers of the day.<ref>{{cite web| title = MMU Special Collections – Victorian Ephemera| publisher = [[Manchester Metropolitan University]]| url = http://www.specialcollections.mmu.ac.uk/victoria.php| access-date = November 8, 2013| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131109164103/http://www.specialcollections.mmu.ac.uk/victoria.php| archive-date = November 9, 2013| df = mdy-all}}</ref> The collection appears in Seddon's book ''Victorian Valentines'' (1996).<ref>{{cite book| title = Victorian Valentines: A Guide to the Laura Seddon Collection of Valentine Cards in Manchester Metropolitan University Library| publisher = [[Manchester Metropolitan University]]| year = 1996| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5swmAAAACAAJ&q=Victorian+Valentines+seddon| author = Laura Seddon| access-date = November 8, 2013| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140103002756/http://books.google.com/books?id=5swmAAAACAAJ&dq=Victorian+Valentines+seddon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2OJ8UuGqEqLR7AbPt4CgBw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA| archive-date = January 3, 2014| df = mdy-all| isbn = 9780901276544}}</ref>

[[File:Red Roses (6862116332).jpg|thumb|upright|Flowers, such as red roses (pictured), are often sent on Valentine's Day.]]
In the United States, the first mass-produced Valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by [[Esther Howland]] (1828–1904) of [[Worcester, Massachusetts]].<ref name="american" /><ref name=devereux /> Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English Valentine she had received from a business associate of her father.<ref>''Hobbies, Volume 52, Issues 7–12'' p.18. Lightner Pub. Co., 1947</ref><ref name=TRE/> Intrigued with the idea of making similar Valentines, Howland began her business by importing paper lace and floral decorations from England.<ref name=TRE>{{cite web |author=Vivian Krug Hotchkiss |url=http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/estherhowland.htm |title=Esther Howland |publisher=Emotionscards.com |access-date=August 6, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722235315/http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/estherhowland.htm |archive-date=July 22, 2011 }}</ref><ref>Dean, Dorothy (1990) ''On the Collectible Trail'' p.90. Discovery Publications, 1990</ref>

A writer in ''Graham's American Monthly'' observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day&nbsp;... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."<!--holyday in the original--><ref>Quoted in Schmidt 1993:209.</ref> The English practice of sending Valentine's cards was established enough to feature as a plot device in [[Elizabeth Gaskell]]'s ''[[Mr. Harrison's Confessions]]'' (1851): "I burst in with my explanations: 'The valentine I know nothing about.' 'It is in your handwriting', said he coldly."<ref>Gaskell, Elizabeth ''Cranford and Selected Short Stories'' p. 258. Wordsworth Editions, 2006.</ref> Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".<ref name=devereux>{{Cite book |title= Love & Romance Facts, Figures & Fun |author= Eve Devereux |edition= illustrated |publisher= AAPPL Artists & Photographers Press |year= 2006 |isbn= 1-904332-33-1 |page= 28 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MCAC8mnwEIEC }}</ref>

Since the 19th century, handmade cards have given way to mass-produced [[greeting cards]].<ref name="Leigh Eric Schmidt 1993 pp. 209–245"/> In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines, and around £1.9&nbsp;billion was spent in 2015 on cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Valentine's Day spending set to top £1.9bn in United Kingdom
 |url=http://www.brc.org.uk/details04.asp?id=1091&kCat=&kData=1
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204235054/http://www.brc.org.uk/details04.asp?id=1091&kCat=&kData=1
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=February 4, 2008
|publisher=[[British Retail Consortium]]
}}</ref> The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the U.S. to follow.<ref name="Leigh Eric Schmidt 1991 pp 890–98">Leigh Eric Schmidt, "The Commercialization of the calendar: American holidays and the culture of consumption, 1870–1930" ''Journal of American History'' '''78'''.3 (December 1991) pp 890–98.</ref>

[[File:Elmer Valentine boxed chocolates.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A gift box of chocolates, which is a common gift for Valentine's Day]]
In 1868, the British chocolate company [[Cadbury]] created Fancy Boxes – a decorated box of chocolates – in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day.<ref name="Chocolates">{{cite book|last=Mintz|first=Sidney|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|date=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=157}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Guinness World Records 2017 |date=September 8, 2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxAyDQAAQBAJ&q=cadbury+chocolate+boxes+1868&pg=PA90 |publisher=Guinness World Records |page=90 |isbn=9781910561348 |quote=[[Richard Cadbury]], eldest son of John Cadbury who founded the now iconic brand, was the first chocolate-maker to commercialize the association between confectionery and romance, producing a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in 1868 |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324141123/https://books.google.com/books?id=hxAyDQAAQBAJ&q=cadbury+chocolate+boxes+1868&pg=PA90 |url-status=live }}</ref> Boxes of filled chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday.<ref name="Chocolates"/> In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts, such as giving [[jewelry]].

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities are included the figure goes up to 1&nbsp;billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.<ref name="american">{{cite web |url= http://www.greetingcard.org/userfiles/file/2010%20Valentines%20Day.pdf |title= Americans Valentine's Day |year= 2010 |access-date= February 16, 2010 |publisher= U.S. Greeting Card Association |archive-date= February 4, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230204150611/http://www.greetingcard.org/userfiles/file/2010%20Valentines%20Day.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref>

The increase in use of the Internet around the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions. Every year, millions of people use digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as [[e-cards]], love coupons and printable greeting cards. Valentine's Day is considered by some to be a [[Hallmark holiday]] due to its commercialization.<ref name="wp">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-valentines-day-do-we-still-need-hallmark/2012/02/08/gIQAsaKP4Q_story.html |title=On Valentine's Day, do we still need Hallmark? |last=Lenz |first=Kristin |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 10, 2012 |access-date=February 14, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217220055/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-valentines-day-do-we-still-need-hallmark/2012/02/08/gIQAsaKP4Q_story.html |archive-date=February 17, 2012 }}</ref>

In 2016, the [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales|Catholic Bishops of England and Wales]] established a [[novena]] prayer "to support single people seeking a spouse ahead of St Valentine's Day."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/02/12/bishops-release-novena-for-single-catholics-ahead-of-st-valentines-day/|title=Bishops release novena for single Catholics ahead of St Valentine's Day|last=Teahan|first=Madeleine|date=February 12, 2016|newspaper=[[The Catholic Herald]]|language=en|access-date=February 12, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213092804/http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/02/12/bishops-release-novena-for-single-catholics-ahead-of-st-valentines-day/|archive-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref>