Valentine's Day: why is the date not as romantic as you imagine? Between bouquets, gifts and passionate declarations, Valentine's Day seems to revolve solely around love. But its origins in Brazil reveal a much more practical objective: to move trade. The date, celebrated on June 12, was created in 1948 as a marketing strategy to increase sales in one of the market's weakest months. Advertiser João Dória, father of former governor of São Paulo João Doria Jr., created the date at the request of a store that wanted to improve results, according to the Brazilian Association of Advertising Agencies (ABAP). In addition to being a time of weak sales, June 12th was chosen because it is the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, known in popular culture as the matchmaking saint. The first advertising campaign that launched the date in Brazil used the slogan: "It's not just with kisses that you can prove love!". "It was a really cool idea because it is closely linked to the business. According to research, six out of 10 Brazilians think the date is important", says Antônio Fadiga, vice-president of ABAP. The idea was successful, and soon other store owners joined the campaign. Today, Valentine's Day is the third most important date for commerce in Brazil, according to Sebrae. Despite being an important celebration for commerce, the federal government does not consider the date a holiday or optional. It is interesting to note that, in other countries, the day to celebrate love is in February: Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day was created to boost sales during the month of June Personal Archive Why is Saint Anthony the matchmaking saint? The date chosen to celebrate Valentine's Day was the day before the celebration of Saint Anthony, famous for being the matchmaking saint. Saint Anthony, also known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, was born in 1195, in Portugal, and has a strong connection with the Church in Brazil. According to the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), he is the patron saint or holder of three archdioceses and 11 dioceses. He became known as the matchmaker saint because, according to reports, he helped a young woman from Naples, in southern Italy, who wanted to get married, but did not have money for a dowry, explains Father Elílio de Faria Matos Júnior, from the Archdiocese of Juiz de Fora (MG). According to the priest, Saint Anthony gave the young woman a note for her to give to a merchant. In the note, he asked the merchant to give the girl silver coins with the same weight as the paper. "Deeming the weight of the paper to be derisory, the merchant accepted, but when he placed the ticket on one of the scales, he had to place 400 silver escudos on the other," said the priest, in an interview with g1. It was then that, according to Catholic belief, the merchant remembered that he had promised this amount to the saint. Thus, the young woman received the amount and was able to get married. Since then, many believers have asked Saint Anthony's help to get married, performing spells such as placing him upside down, taking the baby Jesus from his arms or looking for his image on cakes, among other promises. Former governor of São Paulo published a tribute to his father, creator of Valentine's Day in Brazil Instagram/ Reproduction What is the origin of Valentine’s Day? In the United States and Europe, the equivalent of Valentine's Day is Valentine's Day, celebrated on February 14th. There are several stories about the origin of the date, but the best known is that of Bishop Valentine, who, in the 3rd century, in the Roman Empire, performed weddings despite the emperor's prohibition. At the time, because of the wars, Emperor Claudius II banned marriages, believing that single men made better soldiers. Even so, Bishop Valentim continued performing ceremonies and, when discovered, he was condemned. Chinese influencer goes viral after showing products for sale for just 3 seconds on live stream