A History of Valentine’s Day

Sending Valentines to family and friends has been a longtime tradition.

While we all adore the gifts from friends, family, and lovers, very few people know about the actual history of Valentine’s Day. The holiday comes from the Roman festival of Lupercalia, once held in mid-February.

The festival, which celebrated the coming of Spring, was basically a giant matchmaking party. At the end of the fifth century, it was not Christian enough for Pope Gelasius I, who replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day.

It came to be celebrated as a day of love around the 14th century. However, as there are several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from any number of them. This includes a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus. This priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he befriended after healing her from blindness.

Another possible option is St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, although the two Valentines may be one and the same. See the confusion?

Another theory is that St. Valentine defied the Emperor’s edicts and secretly married couples to save husbands who would be sent to war, and it is for this reason that this day is associated with love.

The forefront of the holiday we know and love, messages and valentines, appeared in the 1500s, with sweet homemade cards. With commercialization in the late 1700s, commercially-printed cards began circulating.

The U.S. caught on a little late, as the first commercial valentines here were printed in the mid-1800s. And, Valentine’s Day today?

The ever-present heart emphasizes love. Birds have become a common symbol, as the avian mating season occurs in February. Gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Spain, Scandinavia, France, Singapore, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Philippines, Lebanon, Mexico, and South Korea. In Israel, the Jewish tradition of Tu B'Av is the equivalent of Valentine's Day. In Taiwan, Qixi Festival and White Day are celebrated. In Japan, the holiday is celebrated by women giving men presents, and men responding with presents whose value is two or three times as much. The Philippines takes the cake, with February 14 being the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are common on that date.

We have many choices when it comes to showing we care about another person. As Valentine’s Day approaches, consider buying a special card, red rose, or See’s candy this year for that special person.

By Julia Abbott