By Annabella Dunn ’25
Every Feb. 14, the United States and dozens of other countries celebrate Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is widely known as the holiday of hearts and flowers; however, its origins are far from the romantic traditions we celebrate today, and the true origin story of Valentine’s Day is filled with mystery.
The Catholic Church roster of saints recognizes 12 saints named Valentine (or some variation of the name). There is even a Pope Valentine, but little is known about him. He served about 40 days in A.D. 827.
The most common legend begins in Italy and states that Valentine was a priest alive during the third century in Rome. The emperor at the time decided that single men made better soldiers than those who were married with wives and children. He outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine recognized the injustice of this law and continued to perform marriages for young men and women in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor ordered that he be put to death, and he was beheaded around A.D. 270.
Another legend suggests that Valentine’s death was ordered because he attempted to help Christians escape from the harsh Roman prisons—where they were often tortured. He is said to have cut hearts from parchment, giving them to soldiers and Christians.
While another legend claims that Valentine, who was imprisoned, fell in love with a young girl who visited him during his sentence. This legend says that he sent the first “valentine” greeting to her, and before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” a common expression still used today.
St. Valentine’s skull can be found on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.
Although the truth behind these different accounts is unclear, the stories all applaud and recognize Saint Valentine as a heroic romantic figure. In the Middle Ages, Valentine became one of the most popular saints in both England and France.
Like its origin story, the reason for the holiday being celebrated in February is also not entirely clear. Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to honor the anniversary of Valentine’s death, while others claim that the Catholic Church decided to place it in February in order to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a festival held each year in Rome on Feb. 15 that consisted of animal sacrifices.
The festival promoted purification of good health and fertility. Animals like goats and dogs were sacrificed by members of the Luperci (an order of Roman priests) who then ran around the city whipping others with animals hides because they believed that these actions brought good health. Roman women were recorded to have eagerly awaited this event since it would make them more fertile in the new year.
According to legend, later in the day, the young Roman women would place their names into a large urn in which the city’s bachelors would draw from and become paired for the year with their selected woman.
At the end of the fifth century, Lupercalia was outlawed by Pope Gelasius. In turn, he declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine’s Day. However, it was not until centuries later when the day became associated with love.
By the Middle Ages, people from France and England, believed that Feb. 14 was the day that bird mating season began—which could be (and probably is) the beginning of the idea that St. Valentine’s Day should be a celebration of those in love.
Valentine’s greetings date back to the Middle Ages, but written Valentine’s did not appear until after 1400. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day became popular around the 1600s, and by the middle of the 1700s, it was common for people of all social classes to exchange small notes of affection.
In the 1840’s, Esther A. Howland, also known as the “Mother of the American Valentine,” mass-produced Valentine cards in Massachusetts and formed her own company called the New England Valentine Company. By 1900, printed cards started to replace handwritten ones. With cheaper postage rates and ready-made cards, it was easy to send notes to loved ones.
Today, Valentine’s Day brings in large amounts of revenue for companies, and it has become very commercialized. Commercialization has spoiled the day for many, but Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, said we only have ourselves to blame.
“This isn’t a command performance. . . If people didn’t want to buy Hallmark cards, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of business,” Fisher said.
According to Hallmark, over 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year—making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year (with Christmas cards being first).
THE BEAR FACTS 