What are the Origins Behind Valentine’s Day?

For almost seven centuries, Valentine’s Day has been a prosperous love-filled holiday celebrated by many across the world. Cherishing loved ones and romantic partners are typical occurrences on February 14; and in the modern times, buying chocolates and flowers for those we care for. Diving deeper in the origins of Valentine’s Day, it is important to acknowledge how this affectionate holiday came about and the ways people celebrate it in different regions of the world.

Stemming from a historical figure commonly known as Saint Valentine, Saint Valentine was one of the many Roman martyrs during the 14th century who were featured in a variety of legends leading to the creation of Valentine’s Day. According to an article written by History, one legend states that, “an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl—possibly his jailor’s daughter—who visited him during his confinement.” Saint Valentine quickly became a symbol of romance, and was celebrated for his commerce of love and defiance of officials. Although there is still confusion around Saint Valentine and these numerous legends, many have other hypotheses on what led to Valentine’s Day. 

Many believe this widely-celebrated holiday originated from Lupercalia, which was an ancient pagan festival held annually on February 15. The festival exhibited ritualistic goat sacrifices, “naked runs”, and an event where men would pick a woman’s name out of a jar, and “couple” with them, often staying together after an extended amount of time. Over the course of many centuries, the ceremonies became more chaste, abandoning more sexual aspects of the festival, and focusing on celebrating the fertility God, Lupercus. Some of the elements of Lupercalia that contributed to the themes of Valentine’s Day were the colors red, from the goat’s blood during sacrifice, and white, the milk used to wipe away the blood. Despite the happenings in the festival, many Christian rulers rejected the idea of incorporating the aspect of love into Valentine’s Day, and rather focused on the pagan and religious facet of the martyr and his doings. 

To this day, many historians are still unsure of how this passionate holiday evolved in ancient Rome, and the legends behind the spiritualistic holiday.