Valentine’s Day is a holiday known for its candy hearts, boxes of chocolates, and romantic dinners. Often, students exchange sweet cards, while couples spend time together and exchange sentimental gifts. This minor holiday is typically filled with love, but it didn’t always start out like this.
Valentine’s Day was never intended to be a day to celebrate love, as it originated from a bloody pagan fertility festival in the sixth century. Each year, Romans celebrated Lupercalia, a festival of purification and fertility, varying from the thirteenth to fifteenth of February. Traditionally, people used skins and hides of sacrificed animals to hit women, a custom believed to make them more fertile and pure.
However, by the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius outlawed Lupercalia and renamed it St. Valentine’s Day, permanently changing the date to the fourteenth of February. But who was Saint Valentine? It is unclear if Saint Valentine was one person, two, or many. Some think he was a third-century Roman priest who persecuted Christians. He was martyred by Pope Claudius II, and buried on February fourteenth, which has marked the date of the holiday every year since.
The romantic aspect of Valentine’s Day didn’t emerge until the Middle Ages. During the medieval period, a species known as the wisdom bird underwent its mating period during the middle of February. So, people considered the middle of February a time where matches were made and love was in the air. This theme of love and mating persisted, causing February fourteenth to be largely associated with intimate relationships.
The first recorded valentine was a poem sent in 1415 by Duke Charles of Orleans to his wife. He was being imprisoned in the Tower of London after being captured in the Battle of Agincourt, and was trying to extend his love to his wife from afar. He sadly wrote, “I am already sick of love, My very gentle Valentine.” Although Charles’ valentine was more of a sad love story, it was a romantic gesture nonetheless that sparked the exchanging of “valentine cards”.
It wasn’t until the mid-nineteenth century that many Valentine’s day practices became common. A popular tradition that is still seen today was started by Victorian men who would gift their wives flowers. Additionally, in 1861, Richard Cadbury created the first heart-shaped box of chocolates. The New England Confectionery Company shortly followed as they began to develop the iconic conversation hearts in 1866. Similarly, Ether Howlad, an artist and entrepreneur, made store-bought English-style valentines that became widespread throughout America for the cards’ elaborate designs. Following the 1910s, big name companies such as Hallmark started making cards inspired by Howlad, specifically for the purpose of Valentine’s Day.
Today, people partake in similar traditions of exchanging cards, candies, and flowers. But more importantly, the day celebrates love. Though it originated from a peculiar festival, Valentine’s day has developed into a commonly celebrated holiday.
