It doesn’t matter if you love or hate Valentine’s Day—it has a long history. Even though Valentine’s Day is now associated with gifts, kissing, and securing a reservation for dinner, the holiday’s beginnings are decidedly less romantic. This is the history of Valentine’s Day that wouldn’t make a good romantic comedy; it includes a massacre, a saint, and even the immoral nuns of the holiday.
When is Valentine’s Day?
The 14th of February is always Valentine’s Day. February 14, Wednesday, 2024, is Valentine’s Day.
Pope Gelasius proclaimed February 14th to be St. Valentine’s Day at the end of the 5th century, and ever since, people have celebrated the day, albeit it was typically more religious than romantic.
History of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is a set day on the calendar that was originally observed as Lupercalia, a mid-February holiday on the ancient Roman calendar. Some historians think this is how the holiday came to represent love. Lupercalia was a fertility celebration that might have involved pairing men and women by drawing names out of a jar. In history, the marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera was celebrated in the middle of winter in ancient Greece.
Why is Valentine’s Day celebrated on February 14th?
Early Christians, for the most part, chose to celebrate holidays on days that fell in line with already-established festivals and celebrations (such as Christmas and the winter solstice). Accordingly, Valentine’s Day was observed on February 14th, and Lupercalia on February 15th.
Who was Saint Valentine?
It turns out that not much. In the Catholic faith, St. Valentine’s Day was added to the liturgical calendar approximately 500 AD, making it a feast day. You guessed it: Valentine-named martyred saints were honoured on this day.
Three separate saints named Valentine or Valentinus are honoured by various legends; however, the feast day was dropped from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar in 1969 due to the lack of information available about these men and the discrepancies in accounts of the St. Valentine Day narrative.
The legend of Saint Valentine has multiple versions, despite the fact that little is known about the actual history of the Saint Valentines who served as the inspiration for the holiday.
According to a legend, Saint Valentine was put to death by Roman Emperor Claudius II for refusing to become a pagan. He was able to heal his jailer’s daughter miraculously before he was put to death, and she and his family later became Christians. According to a different legend, the real namesake of the holiday is a bishop named Saint Valentine of Terni, who was also put to death.
However, history claim that Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed marriages for soldiers who were not allowed to get married due to an emperor’s decree that married soldiers did not make good warriors and that young men were therefore not allowed to get married. This is how Saint Valentine came to be associated with a romantic holiday. Soldiers were able to identify Saint Valentine thanks to the love symbol—a ring with the image of a Cupid on it. Additionally, he distributed paper hearts to remind Christians of their love for God—a move that predated greeting cards.
Saint Valentine gained fame as the patron saint of love as a result of this mythology. In the Saint Valentine prayer, lovers ask Saint Valentine to unite them and help them remember their commitment to God.
Although the story of Saint Valentine laid the foundation for the celebration of romantic love on this day, historians believe that a poem written in 1375 by the mediaeval author Geoffrey Chaucer cemented the relationship between Saint Valentine and love. This poem is credited with giving rise to the “modern” Valentine’s Day celebration, which honours our romantic relationship with a significant other.
Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages, the height of courtly love, when love was expressed in poetry, songs, paintings, and other wide, romantic declarations that honoured a partnership. Poetry and songs of the time began to use the term “valentine” to refer to a lover by the end of the fifteenth century, and in England, a book titled The Young Man’s Valentine Writer was published in the eighteenth century.
The sad fact about Valentine’s Day history is that tragedies do occur on this romantic holiday. On February 14, 1929, seven men were murdered in Chicago during Prohibition by a gang led by Al Capone. A turning point in the history of Prohibition was the Valentine’s Day Massacre, when politicians and law enforcement pursued the gangs and mobs that had developed in cities to control substances that were then forbidden, such as alcohol.
What is Galentine’s Day?
Galentine’s Day is a relatively new addition to Valentine’s Day history, offering a contemporary interpretation of the holiday. Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler on Parks and Recreation, appears to have popularised it. It’s a day to honour your beloved friends. It falls on February 13th, which gives you plenty of time to celebrate with your significant other on the official Valentine’s Day the next day. Presents for Galentine’s Day have evolved into a charming way to honour the individuals in your life.
What does Valentine’s Day signify?
Valentine’s Day has served as a commercial holiday, an ancient ritual day, and a religious celebration over the years—even centuries. With everything changing, Valentine’s Day can now mean anything you want it to: you can choose to completely forego the festivities, treat yourself to some chocolate or flowers, or use the occasion to show your loved ones—whether they be family, friends, coworkers, or romantic partners—how much you care.
