Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day comes around every year and there is no getting away from it.
But why is Valentine’s Day celebrated? And how did it all begin? Here is everything we know.
What and when is Valentine’s Day?
It is the day of love – whether that be for a partner, child, or someone you admire secretly, Valentine’s Day is the one time a year you are supposed to express your affection to the person you love.
Valentine’s Day always falls on February 14, meaning that the day of the week varies year on year. In 2025, Valentine’s Day will fall on a Friday for the first time since 2020.
Where did it come from and when did it start?
St. Valentine is known as the patron saint of lovers in the Christian faith. There are various legends about a religious figure named Valentine or Valentinus who was martyred on February 14 in the 3rd century AD.
There are lots of stories about who he was, and nobody knows the true answer.
Some historians say St. Valentine was a Roman priest who refused to convert to paganism and was said to be executed by the ruler at the time, known as Emperor Claudius II in about 270 AD.
It is said that before his death he healed the daughter of the Emperor and the pair fell in love. On the day of his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “from your Valentine”.
In another story, St. Valentine was said to have been executed because he secretly performed weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry.
The facts are so murky that the Catholic Church removed him from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, although they still recognise him as patron saint of lovers, people with epilepsy, and beekeepers.
Whichever story is believed, it is a fact that the day in his name on February 14 replaced what was the pagan Roman festival of Lupercalia.
Lupercalia celebrated the coming of spring and fertility and involved a ritual in which men and women were paired off by choosing names from a jar.
As Christianity spread, pagan rituals fell by the wayside and at the end of the fifth century, the then leader, named Pope Gelasius I, outlawed Lupercalia.
Some credit him with introducing Valentine’s Day as a replacement, however, we don’t know if he was the one responsible for it. While he abolished Lupercalia in the 5th century, the association of February 14 with St Valentine and love developed over time.
How did Valentine’s become about romance?
Valentine’s Day used to be about paying tribute to a Christian martyr but given his associations with love, it has now in the modern day moved on to be a day celebrating love.
He lived in the Middle Ages when poems, songs and paintings were often used as displays of affection.
He wrote a poem named the Parliament of Fowls which is thought to have been written to commemorate the engagement of King Richard II.
In it he described birds mating, writing:
“You know that on Saint Valentine’s Day.
By my statute and through my governance,
You come to choose and then fly your way
Your mates, as I your desires enhance.”
From then on, Valentine’s Day was seen as a day of romantic love.
How do we celebrate Valentine’s?
Traditionally, the day sees people lavish their loved ones with a card or a gift to show their affection and love.
If the story of St. Valentine is true, his letter to the Emperor’s daughter would probably count as the first Valentine card ever sent.
