The Broski Report with Brittany Broski
83: DO NOT Learn The History of Valentine’s Day
Tue, 11 Feb 2025
This week on The Broski Report, Fearless Leader Brittany Broski researches the history of Valentine’s Day, unpacks the idea of the Victorian Era, and gives a Book Haul. 👕 Get your merch here: https://broski.shop/ Follow The Broski Report: https://www.linktr.ee/broskireport https://www.tiktok.com/@broskireport https://instagram.com/broskireport Follow Brittany: https://www.tiktok.com/@brittany_broski https://instagram.com/brittany_broski https://youtube.com/brittany_broski Follow Royal Court: https://www.youtube.com/@royalcourt https://www.tiktok.com/@bbroyalcourt https://www.instagram.com/royalcourt https://www.twitter.com/bbroyalcourt Brought to You By: Tinder – Download the app now – https://open.tinder.com/9K8a/broski Rocket Money – Start saving money today – https://rocketmoney.com/broskireport Reproductive Resources: https://aidaccess.org https://plancpills.org https://Ineedana.com https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/ https://heyjane.com LGBTQ+ Resources: https://Translifeline.org https://Glaad.org https://Pflag.org https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ Climate Resources: https://Oceanconservancy.org https://Climateemergencyfund.org Some helpful credible resources/links to help Free Palestine: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund - https://www.pcrf.net/ UNICEF - https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/helping-gazas-children-cope-trauma Doctors Without Borders - https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/secure/give-monthly-double-your-impact-search-onetime-reverse-mobile?ms=ADD2301U3U49&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BRAND.DWB_CKMSF-BRAND.DWB-GS-GS-ALL-DWBBrand.E-BO-ALL-RSA-RSARefresh.1-MONTHLY&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PGxBhCVARIsAIumnWZpQAMikxPIRiPMfAjYsJZ-eHiRQV2pw7tu2Jlo6YL8Gk_uaTSwH0MaAtFGEALw_wc World Central Kitchen - https://wck.org/ World Health Organization - https://www.who.int/ Headcount - https://www.headcount.org/ IG ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW: @eye.on.palestine @aljazeeraenglish @palestinianyouthmovement @byplestia @motaz_azaiza @impact CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Intro 01:44 – Valentine’s Day Rant 08:12 – Redbull 08:43 – History of Valentine’s Day 09:16 – Victorian Era & Imperialism 19:33 – History of Valentine’s Day Cont. 20:45 – Book Haul 28:01 – History of Valentine’s Day Cont. 37:42 – Perfume 54:32 – Outro #brittanybroski, #broski, #broskination, #broskireport, #valentinesday, #redbull, #history, #royalhistory, #royals, #queenvictoria, #imperialism, #booktok, #reading
Chapter 1: Why is Brittany Broski upset about Valentine's Day?
Good morning and welcome back, Broski Nation. It is 7.45 a.m. Hallelujah. There is what I would describe as a squadron of chickadees outside my window this morning. So if y'all hear some... Some faint, whimsical chirps from the birds. Hope you don't mind. Oh, you mind the whimsical musings of the birds outside my window this morning? Fuck you. Fuck off. Do you want to know my stem of the week?
Because it is Valentine's week, and the crowd makes no reaction. It's Valentine's week. That fucking video. That girl with her friends in the hotel room. She goes, it's St. Patrick's Day. And her friends say, we really don't give a fuck. It's not even a major holiday. Acted like it's Christmas or something. Fuck you and St. Patrick's Day. And her face, she said, what the fuck?
Fuck you and St. Patrick's Day.
you and valentine's day bitch it's valentine's day i no one really gives a fuck we don't really give a fuck that's how i feel i think oh god let me rant for a second oh god Oh, God. I know I come on this podcast, and I just hate men, okay? Not all men. Yeah, pretty much all men, okay? I think that Valentine's Day, speaking from a personal experience, speaking from a personal experience,
Chapter 2: How do personal experiences shape Brittany's view on Valentine's Day?
historically has been just so upsetting, right? My first ever boyfriend that I had, I had to beg him, beg him to get me flowers. And he came to pick me up. He was going to take me to a nice dinner. I got all dolled up. I spent probably three hours in that glam chair, the glam chair being my college dorm. I spent so long getting dressed. I do my makeup and I got him something.
And I was like, all I ask of you is just get me fucking flowers. This motherfucker, this motherfucker thought it would be funny. I'm getting mad all over again. This motherfucker thought it would be funny to get me one plush flower. And so I hop in his truck.
because y'all forget I'm from Texas, I hop in his truck, derogatory, because some pickup trucks, Trumps, Trump, President Trump, if you can hear us, I get in his pickup truck, and in the passenger seat is a plush flower. And he goes, so I never have to buy you ones ever again.
Oh, okay, oh, okay. Motherfucker!
Fuck you and Valentine's Day, bitch! Men are so... You're... Hey, babe, you're missing the point. You're missing the point. Also, it's not like... You know what I mean? Like, I'm so sick of just accepting... Or a lot of the older women in my family being like, that's just men. They just don't get it. They don't get it. No, they get it. They just don't want to fucking do it.
No, they understand very clearly. They just don't want to do it because they don't give a fuck about you. They don't give a fuck. Plush flower. It was one of those plush flowers that's like wire inside, bendable. So I never have to buy you flowers ever again. Ah, okay. Ah, yes. Thank you.
I do have just qualms with Valentine's Day in general because why were we giving Valentine's to each other as children? Okay? I don't understand the significance of what a Valentine is. Or as we used to say in third and fourth grade, Valentine. Okay? Happy Valentine's Day. It's not even a major holiday. Fuck you and Valentine's Day. Anyway. Shit, girl.
You want to know something else about Valentine's Day? You get all dolled up to go to dinner, to go to an expensive dinner with your mid-ass boyfriend, to sit in the booth and eat gut-bubbling pasta and milk sauce, fettuccine alfredo. Okay, with some burnt chicken. And then you go home and have the most vanilla sex of your life.
And then you go to bed unsatisfied because he had busted and then gone to sleep. That is Valentine's Day for the majority of American women. Okay, now some of you are being spoiled. Some of you actually have men that care about you. I don't want to hear about that. I really don't give a fuck. We really don't give a fuck. Act like it's a major holiday. Fuck you and Valentine's Day. Okay.
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Chapter 3: What is the historical background of Valentine's Day?
And I was getting the information, okay? I was studying. I was doing some research. And I figured out that Queen Victoria's reign is the longest in British monarchial history, with Elizabeth II coming just shy, okay? That bitch reigned, may she rest in peace, I guess. Actually, not really, because she was horrible. She reigned for damn near 60 years? Let me fact check myself.
1837?
Damn. Damn, she was born in 1819. She became queen at age 18 after the death of her uncle, William IV. Okay, anyway, yeah, 63 years and some change. The longest reign in British history. Oh, just kidding. Queen Elizabeth II surpassed her in 2015. My fault. My fault. Because, oh, that is actually true because Queen Elizabeth was, what is that called? Coronated? Coronated definition.
To put a crown on someone's head in an official ceremony. I am a genius. And you know what? That comes from the stem corona, which means crown in Spanish, which is in Latin. Because it's a romance language. So coronated. Corona. Okay, anyway, Victorian England, you always hear about that. It's because that was for over 50 years that Victorian England was a thing.
Queen Victoria died in 1901, and her son Edward took over for nine years. Edward was a playboy king. He didn't give a fuck. about England or the English people. He didn't give a fuck. He reigned for nine years, died. Shortly after that, George took over. I believe King George VI. Let me see if I'm wrong. Boom. I'm a genius. King George VI.
And when King George... So King George ruled during World War I and World War II. And so when you hear them talk about God saved the king, that's King George VI. And he wasn't the ugliest monarch that the UK and Northern Ireland has ever had. Okay? He wasn't fugly. I'll say that. He was... Queen Elizabeth II's father. Okay, so we have Victoria and Albert.
If you ever hear about the Victoria and Albert Theater, very famous venue in London, that's actually going to be Victoria and Albert because that was the king and queen. Okay. Queen Victoria, then we have King Edward, then we have King George, then we have Queen Elizabeth, then we have King Charles. Okay, so that's the sort of succession of the British monarchy for the last... What is that?
200 years? And I was reading during... I was reading Sherlock Holmes into the 1900s. He refers to the king. And I was like, what fucking king? And then they would also refer to Victoria. And so that's what kind of led me to Google it. Y'all really don't care. And I also stumbled my way through that. And for that, I apologize.
So if you were ever wondering, when you hear about Victorian England, oh, Victorian, Victorian, it's... Because it lasted for, you know, just shy of 70 years. So that's a long time to rule. And it's also a long time to commit atrocities under your name in service of the British Empire. Okay, pardon me. There were two Georges. Holy shit. There were two Georges.
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Chapter 4: How did the Victorian Era influence modern traditions?
economics or religion or goods and services, whatever. It comes down to power. Who holds the power? And I remember in AP Environmental Science, my senior year of high school, was when I learned about the tragedy of the commons. right? That in nature, all things are balanced.
There is a natural homeostasis balance to the animal kingdom, to the food chain, that when there is shared resources amongst a community, everyone only takes what they need. And Native American culture is this way. A lot of pagan cultures were this way, where you only take what you need out of preservation for your community. because it's a very community-focused and community-based environment.
Well, introducing ideas like this, where I will own the land, the resources, the people, the rights, the this, the that, the other, that introduces this new mindset of me, myself, and I, selfish. And so when I learned about the tragedy of the commons, I was like, That's so fucking true. That is so true, dude.
And we see it, right, at the beginning of COVID when everyone bought up all the toilet paper and they were selling it for $50. What are we talking about? It's no respect for your fellow man. And then it spirals into, you know, the British Empire. So, going back to Valentine's Day. Okay. Okay.
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Did not know that. The history of Valentine's Day and the story of its patron saint, St. Valentine, is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.
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Chapter 5: What is Brittany's take on British monarchy history?
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. What?
Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Oh, my God. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Still, others insist that it was St. Valentine of Turney, a bishop who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.
And fuck Claudius II! Did y'all see my TikTok? I did a little book haul. Oh my God, I got this book called God's Bankers inside the finances of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Oh my God! Oh, my God. Hey, I'll let y'all know about that as soon as I start it. Damn, I was walking through... There's this crazy bookstore by my house. And I was like, let me pop in here. All used books. Shout out.
Love that. And I also love that because you go through and you find bookmarks and photos and tickets and underlined sections and annotations. And it's just a magical experience. I can't really put into words anything. other than like what that experience instills in me, other than it makes me zoom out. You know, we are so navel-gazing and we're so focused on ourselves a lot of the time.
And it goes back to what I was just talking about of we are not a community-based organization. people anymore. It's me, myself, and I. And that is so isolating and lonely. I don't know any of my neighbors. I don't know any of my neighbors. And that makes me sad. But why? Why is that the case? Why do I feel like I'm always on edge or I should be, you know, head on a swivel and whatever.
Well, I live in Los Angeles. That's probably why. Objectively dangerous place. But at the same time, my neighbors aren't dangerous people unless they have freezers full of human body parts. But how am I supposed to know that? You know what I mean? And so, yeah, I think that I love used bookstores for that reason. Because you can go in and the way that someone annotates a book or uses a book or...
The state that it's found in, you know, was this ever even read? You can tell. So I think that all of that is part of the experience of going to a bookstore. I was getting some of these books for $5. Hell fucking yeah. Because you go to Barnes & Noble or Books A Million or any of these stores and you get books for $30. $30 for one book. That's a lot of fucking money.
And I understand if it's a new release, if it's your favorite authors, you know, the third installment of the trilogy of the House of Blood, and I get it. But $30? I was at this bookstore, I was boom, boom, boom. I walked out with eight books. I spent 50 bucks total. That's what I'm fucking talking about!
That's what I'm talking about!
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Chapter 6: Why does Brittany love used bookstores?
And BC means before Christ. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for romance.
The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine's Day as a day of romantic celebration in his 1375 poem, Parliament of Fowls, writing, "'For this was sent on St. Valentine's Day, when every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.'" 1375. That is nutso to me.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written valentines didn't begin to appear until after 1400. Well, that makes sense because the populace was illiterate. The oldest known Valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
Now, let me tell you something about the Tower of London. One of the most haunted fucking places in the world, probably. Some horrid, abhorrent, evil shit has gone down in the Tower of London. The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.
Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a Valentine note to Catherine of Eloise. Don't give a fuck. Okay, this is nuts. I had no idea that... It's been celebrated that long. Okay, let's talk about modern-day Valentines. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, and Australia.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the end of the 18th century, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. And by 1900, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology.
Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Oh my God. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging handmade Valentines in the early 1700s.
Today, according to Hallmark, an estimated 145 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. More cards are sent at Christmas. Fuck you and Valentine's Day. Ah, yes, learning that... A beloved holiday is rooted in suffering. Most are. Most are. Okay?
So when you're celebrating Valentine's Day this year, make sure to get your significant other a plush flower so you never have to buy them one ever again. Make sure that you buy them a Hallmark card. Okay? Let's get some more plastic out there in the world. Let's get some more... Some more paper with plastic embellishments on it. Okay, let's send that off. Definitely don't hand make anything.
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