Valentine’s Day is the day that you declare your love for your partner – ‘the day of love’ as such. On the 14th February, couples give gifts to one another, expressing their love and appreciation for their partner. Valentine’s Day is typically associated with cards, chocolate and red roses – it’s pretty hard to miss. However, that is today’s association with Valentine’s day, but it didn’t always use to be like this. In fact, the history and origins of Valentine’s day is shrouded in mystery and has competing origin stories. So, let’s get into the history and origins of Valentine’s Day!
Scholars think the earliest origin of Valentine’s Day is Lupercalia – a pagan holiday. Lupercalia occurred in the middle of February and this holiday celebrated fertility. During this holiday, naked men would sacrifice a goat and a dog, which young boys would then take strips of the sacrificed animals and whip women to increase their fertility. This festival also included heavy drinking and men and women pairing off in a kind of lottery to have sex. Lupercalia was an incredibly popular holiday that continued to be celebrated 150 years after Christianity became legalized in the Roman Empire. However, when Pope Gelasius was in power in the fifth century he ended Lupercalia.
There have been many saints called ‘Saint Valentine’ which makes the origins and history of Valentine’s Day extremely difficult to conclude and decide on. However, historians have narrowed it down to a Saint Valentine who was martyred around 270 AD by the emperor Cluadius II Gothicus. Valentine supposedly defied the emperor’s orders and married couples during this time so that the husbands of these couples could be kept safe from war. This is supposedly why Valentine’s day has been associated with love and relationships. Due to Valentine’s actions, the Catholic church eventually made the 14th of February a day to celebrate Saint Valentine, which traditionally became a day of feasting.
Even though we don’t know much about the origins and history of Valentine’s day, we know that its steeped in love, mystery, fun-filled activities and secrecy! However you celebrate Valentine’s Day remember to have fun and look after yourselves. Below are some fun facts about Valentine’s Day:
Fun Facts:
- Historians have been able to trace back the tradition of sending messages and cards to one another to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
- Valentine’s Day is commonly associated with Cupid, the Roman god of love but it is also associated with birds, since the avian mating season occurs around this time.
- Some scholars think that Chaucer connected Valentine’s Day with romance and after Chaucer, Shakespeare did the same:
“To-morrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.”
(Hamlet Act 4, Scene 5)