Why does Valentine’s Day exist?

February 12, 2019

• Topical

On February 14^th 2019, people all over the world will exchange cards, chocolate, and other gifts in a celebration of love and romance. This is because it is Valentine’s Day. But does anyone really know why we do this?

It may well have begun with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, traditionally observed on February 15^th and intended to purify the city to make way for health and fertility in the Spring time. The Romans can never be accused of not knowing how to throw a party. Activities included, but were not exclusive to: animal sacrifice, dancing naked while wearing the skins of said animals, lots of feasting, plenty of drinking, and a ‘match-making lottery’ that coupled random men and women together.

The catholic church, perhaps unsurprisingly, took issue with elements of the above and gave Lupercalia a good old fashioned rebranding in the 5^th Century.  They moved it to February 14^th and martyred a new saint in its honour, St. Valentine. The most popular surviving legend states that Saint Valentine of Rome was imprisoned in the 3^rd Century for performing marriage ceremonies to soldiers who were forbidden to marry by the Roman Empire. During his imprisonment he fell in love with the jailor’s blind daughter and performed a miracle, granting her sight. Before his execution, Saint Valentine wrote a love letter for the daughter, signing it ‘Your Valentine’.

Despite the legend of St. Valentine, the first record of the date being associated with romantic love is more often awarded to the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote a poem in 1382 about birds finding their mates on Valentine’s Day. Whilst this was more likely in keeping with traditional meanings about the arrival of Spring, Chaucer’s ‘love-birds’ caught the public imagination and the meaning stuck. By the time of the 16^th Century when Shakespeare would go on to mention Valentine’s Day in Hamlet, February 14^th was now widely associated with romantic love.

Moving into more modern times, the tradition of exchanging hand-made cards was becoming increasingly popular. Quick to spot the potential for profit, American companies began the mass production of these cards in the early 20^th Century, leading to the heavily commercialised present day incarnation of Valentine’s Day.

That, therefore, is why you may well be spending £2.99 on an overly sentimental heart covered card in the supermarket on Valentine’s Day. Find out about other aspects of British culture and celebrations by clicking here. 

Written by: Marcus White