By Sevanah Sandoval
Valentine’s Day is nearly here! This holiday is widely celebrated in the United States, however its origins are lesser known. This article will detail the history of Valentine’s Day, explaining how it came to be what it is today!
St. Valentine
According to History.com, the Catholic church has recognized three saints named Valentine or Valentinus. There are various differing stories about the legend of St. Valentine and why he is associated with romance. Despite the discrepancy between stories, there is a common theme of St. Valentine being heroic–or even a martyr–in a cause relating to love. So, whether St. Valentine defied Emperor Claudius II’s outlaw of marriage by performing marriages in secret or wrote a letter to his jailor’s daughter, signed “from your Valentine,” after trying to help Christians escape Roman prisons, every version of the story involves St. Valentine being a loving individual. Because of the way St. Valentine is tied to romance, some believe that the holiday commemorates the anniversary of his death.
Origins in Lupercalia
There is a different belief that St. Valentine’s feast day is in February to “Christianize” the pagan tradition of Lupercalia, a fertility festival dedicated to the Roman God of agriculture and the Roman founders, Romulus and Remus that typically took place on February fifteenth. This celebration involved sacrifices of various different animals, and afterwards women and crop fields would be touched with the bloody hides as a blessing of fertility. Later, these young women would place their name in an urn where the young men of the city would draw from, often leading to marriages. Though Lupercalia was outlawed near the end of the 5th century for being “un-Christian,” Pope Gelasius declared the day before, February 14th, as Valentine’s Day.
Birds?
History.com cites English poet Geoffrey Chaucer as the first to record Valentine’s Day as a romantic celebration in 1375. Chaucer wrote, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate,” in reference to the belief that February fourteenth was inherently romantic because it is when bird mating season began.
Cupid
Cupid has become a mascot of sorts for Valentine’s Day. This figure, often depicted as a baby, originated from the Greek God of love, Eros. According to Greek mythology, Eros was handsome and used his arrows to create love between mortals or Gods to play with their emotions. Later, in the Hellenistic period, cupid began appearing as the baby he is often portrayed as today.
Valentine’s Day Gifts
By the time the middle of the eighteenth century rolled around, lovers and friends of all classes commonly exchanged tokens of affection. Later, improvements in printing technology in the twentieth century led to the production of pre-made cards, which exploded in popularity.
Today
Today, Valentine’s Day is still celebrated as a day of love and romance. Gifts and tokens of affection are still shared, though chocolate has become a much more popular gift for Valentine’s day. Overall, this is the (sometimes confused) history of Valentine’s Day.
beniciapaw.com 