It’s the day of love! The visuals of February 14 incite a plethora of pink and red, the stereotypes of romantic love. People use the day to declare their feelings for an affectionate one, or mark their relationships. But what are the origins of Valentine’s Day and why is it celebrated?
There is no lovey-dovey story behind Valentine’s Day, it seems.
According to The New York Times, the holiday may have been inspired by two men. NPR says that Roman Emperor Claudius II murdered two Valentines on February 14 (although in different years) in the third century A.D. It is thought that the Catholic Church created St. Valentine’s Day to honour these men, whom they considered martyrs.
It is likely that one of these men, Saint Valentine of Terni, secretly performed weddings for Roman troops against the wishes of the emperor, making him a supporter of love in the eyes of some.
Another narrative surrounds the custom of sending valentine’s day love letters. St. Valentine allegedly penned the first “valentine” message to a young girl he educated and fell in love with when he was imprisoned for the aforementioned crimes. According to The History Channel, he penned a letter to her signed “From your Valentine” before his death, which remains a prevalent expression today.
However, these romantic anecdotes are merely myths, says a report by Country Living. St. Valentine is still venerated as a saint, despite the fact that the Roman Catholic Church cancelled his feast day from its calendar in 1969 because so little is known about his martyrdom, it adds.
Are there pagan roots to Valentine’s Day?
Lupercalia was an ancient Roman fertility festival held in mid-February, says the report by Country Living. Dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture, Faunas, and the Roman founders Romulus and Remus, this festival of debauchery involved a ritual in which an order of Roman priests ran naked through the streets and “gently slapped” women with the blood-soaked hides of sacrificed animals, which they believed promoted fertility. Later, according to Britannica.com, the ladies were partnered with men “by lottery.”
In the late fifth century BCE, Pope Gelasius I made Lupercalia illegal. Some stories claim that he replaced the pagan occasion with the celebration of Saint Valentine’s Day on February 14.
When Did It Become a Romantic Occasion?
Valentines first emerged in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s, commercially manufactured cards were in circulation. In the mid-1800s, the first commercial Valentines were printed in the United States. Cupid, the Roman deity of love, is frequently shown on Valentine’s Day cards, paired with hearts, the traditional locus of emotion. As it was believed that the avian mating season started around the middle of February, birds became a symbol of the day. Candy and flowers are traditional presents, particularly red roses, a sign of beauty and love, Britannica reports.
Popular in the United States as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, the holiday is also observed in Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea.
It is the most common wedding anniversary in the Philippines, and large marriages involving hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date. The occasion has expanded to include displays of devotion between family and friends.
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