Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love wrapped in candy hearts, roses and chocolates, traces back to St. Valentine.
But the origins are far more complex — and darker than the chocolate we indulge in on the day of love.
Valentine’s Day is rooted in ancient Roman rituals, where sacrifice and secrecy intertwined with the idea of love.
Who is St. Valentine?
We don’t have many details for the legend of St. Valentine. There are at least three different St. Valentines the holiday could be about, according to History. All three were martyred.
One is known to have been a priest in Rome. Emperor Claudius ll had banned young men from marrying, believing that single men, free of love’s distractions, made better soldiers.
St. Valentine, a believer in love’s power, secretly wed young couples until his actions were discovered. For this, he was beheaded.
Another St. Valentine, presumed to be where the holiday originated from, was a bishop of Terni, according to History. He was also beheaded by Emperor Claudius ll outside of Rome.
The third legend claims that while imprisoned for helping Christians escape imprisonment, St. Valentine sent the first “Valentine” card to his love, which was likely to have been the daughter of the jailor according to History. He signed the card, “from your Valentine.”
While we don’t know exactly which St. Valentine we have to thank for the day of love, it appears they all resemble good candidates, each valuing deeply what the heart has to offer.
The Festival of Lupercalia
While some believe Valentine’s Day falls on February 14 to mark the death of one of the St. Valentines, others suggest the holiday is tied to the ancient Pagan Festival of Lupercalia.
Lupercalia was held from February 13 to 15, according to NPR.
Lupercalia, a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, involved sacrifices — goats and dogs — before the hides were dipped in blood. Men would then slap women with the bloodied hides, believing it would ensure fertility.
The festival ended its celebrations with bachelors drawing women’s names from an urn, pairing the couple for a year, and often resulting in lasting marriages, according to History.
By the fifth century, Pope Gelasius combined St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia as a way to “expel the pagan rituals.” per NPR.
The day remained a symbol of fertility and love.
When did Valentine’s Day become sweeter?
It was Chaucer and Shakespeare who took the bloody history of Valentine’s Day and romanticized its passion in their writings, according to NPR.
Chaucer, with his 1375 poem “Parliament of Foules” linked the day to the Middle Age belief that Feb. 14 marked the start of birds' mating season, another symbol of love and relationships according to Good Housekeeping.
The oldest recorded Valentine comes from Charles, Duke of Orleans from 1415 according to History. Written while imprisoned in London, he sent the letter to his wife, saying, “I am already wearied by love, My very gentle Valentine,” per the British Library.
Over time, as handmade cards became synonymous with affection, Hallmark began mass-producing Valentine’s cards in 1913, further solidifying the holidays place in modern days said Good Housekeeping.
Where did the tradition of roses come from?
We have the Lady of Montagu, wife of the British Ambassador to Turkey in the late 1700’s to thank for the tradition of red roses.
She believed that flowers, often named in poems conveying secret messages, were messages themselves, according to Good Housekeeping.
This led to the “language of flowers,” the idea that different flowers symbolized emotions and feelings. It wasn’t long before red roses solidified their symbolic resemblance of romance.