Valentine’s Day is a widely celebrated holiday that takes place on February 14th, and it is all about romance and giving to those you love. Despite being a simple holiday on the surface, it has special and unique origins that date back thousands of years, starting with a man named Saint Valentine.
Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who served in the third century. When the emperor decreed that young men couldn’t marry, Valentine disagreed. He continued to perform marriages for them until he was discovered by the emperor. When the emperor found him, Valentine was sentenced to death. Valentine was beheaded, and people mourned his death with Valentine’s Day, which is named after him.
While some people believe the story of Saint Valentine is how Valentine’s Day was created, others believe that Valentine’s Day was created from Lupercalia, a Roman Festival celebrated on February 15th. The first celebration of Lupercalia was thought to have occurred in 496 CE, celebrating Faunus, the Roman God of agriculture. As part of the celebration, boys would pick girls’ names out of a box. They would stay boyfriend and girlfriend during the festival, and sometimes, this would lead to future marriages. Lupercalia continued until the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius outlawed it and declared February 14 as St Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day gained popularity around the 18th century, but Valentine’s traditions began long before that. For example, sending written Valentines originated in 1415, after a man sent a letter of love to his wife, who was imprisoned. Sending letters and gifts became common around the 1700s, and iconic characters like Cupid, who are associated with Valentine’s Day, only started to appear in the 19th century. All of these elements are now staples of Valentine’s Day.
These are many stories that people believe started Valentine’s Day and popularized the holiday. These are the origin stories of one of the most popular holidays in the world, with millions of people celebrating on February 14th. Not only are there many different tales about how Valentine’s Day started, but there are also various ways to celebrate it. How do you celebrate this holiday?