Like many age-old celebrations, the exact origins of Valentine’s Day are hard to trace. The day of love and affection we celebrate today has evolved from a mixture of ancient traditions, religious rituals, and more modern commercialisation, with each part showing fascinating insights into the history of this holiday.
The early roots of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to ancient Rome and the Festival of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was celebrated between 13th and 15th February and honoured the deity, Lupercus, whom Romans looked to for help with fertility and prosperity. As part of the festival, animals were sacrificed to Lupercus, and men and women were coupled through a lottery, some for the duration of the feasting and others until the following year’s celebrations.
Though it cannot be said with absolute certainty, Roman lore suggests the Festival of Lupercalia was outlawed by Pope Gelasius I in the 490s due to his belief that only the ‘vile rabble’ celebrated it. Tradition also tells how Gelasius mandated that Lupercalia would be replaced with a day to mark the martyrdom of Saint Valentine. Interestingly, this is not the only instance of pagan festivities being ‘Christianised’. Other examples include Saturnalia becoming Christmas and Eostre becoming Easter.
So, we know that the Valentine’s Day we celebrate today is derived from Saint Valentine; however, there are several Saint Valentines who could have inspired the holiday. One story tells of a Valentine who was imprisoned and executed for ministering to persecuted Christians. It is said that, during his time in prison, he wrote a letter to his jailer’s daughter, for whom he had grown affection, and signed it ‘from your Valentine’. Another legend suggests Valentine was a clergyman who married couples in secret during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, who had banned marriage to increase the number of single men becoming soldiers.
Whichever Valentine the celebration comes from, by the medieval period, Valentine’s Day had gained the romantic connotations we still recognise today, such as handwritten notes and tokens of affection. Geoffrey Chaucer’s 1382 poem, The Parliament of Fowls, can be credited as the first written instance of Valentine’s Day being associated with romance. He wrote, ‘For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, when every fowl comes there his mate to take,’ forever linking 14th February as the day birds and humans found love.
The earliest surviving Valentine’s message was written by Charles, Duke of Orléans, in the 15th century, in which he refers to his wife as, ‘My very gentle Valentine’. In 1477, Margery Brewes wrote to her future husband, John Paston, calling him, ‘My right well-beloved Valentine’. William Shakespeare also refers to Valentine’s Day in Hamlet.
It was not until the Victorian era when the popularity of Valentine’s Day exploded, thanks to the reduction in postal rates and the increase in printed greeting cards. Lovers began exchanging cards, flowers, and gifts, including the heart-shaped box of chocolates developed by Cadbury in 1868.
Today, Valentine’s Day is still celebrated as a day of love, both romantic and platonic, and affection. It has become a highly commercialised holiday, with billions spent annually on gifts like chocolates, flowers, jewellery, and dinners. While its origins may be steeped in legend and ritual, its enduring message of love and connection continues to resonate with people worldwide.
Sources
The Complete Works of Chaucer, ed. F.N. Robinson, Oxford University Press, London.
Davis, Norman. The Paston Letters: A Selection in Modern Spelling. Oxford University Press, 1983.
Mintz, Sidney (2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press.
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