February 14

There is some confusion as to which Saint Valentine the day refers to. The most popular story seems to be the Valentine who was a Roman priest. He secretly performed Christian marriages, even though it was prohibited. The priest was discovered and imprisoned, where he fell in love with a mysterious girl. Just before his execution, Valentine sent her a love letter signed ‘from your Valentine’.

The exact date of Saint Valentine’s death is unknown. So why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day on 14 February?

Some believe the date could be Christianity’s attempt to replace the ancient Pagan celebration of Lupercalia, a fertility festival for the pagan god Faunus. This event, which traditionally took place on 15 February, allowed Roman men to draw the names of women from a jar to be coupled with during the festival. The story alleges that this often led to true love. However, Lupercalia was banned when Pope Gelasius replaced it with Valentine’s Day in 496.

The day became associated with romance in the late middle-ages. Valentine’s Day was further romanticized by poets like Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, who wrote about love birds and meeting your true love. The 1400s was also when Valentine’s Day cards first came into being. The first valentine is thought to have come from the Duke of Orléans, who sent a message to his wife from an English prison. King Henry V soon joined the trend by hiring a writer to send a message to Catherine of Valois.

As Valentine’s Day gained more popularity in the 1600s and 1700s, hand-written greetings and small gifts became more common. The first commercial cards appeared in England at the end of the 18th century. These valentines were engraved or carved from wood, printed, and sometimes coloured by hand. From then on, mass-produced modern printing largely replaced the hand-made Valentine’s Day cards.

So there you have it! Whether it commemorates Saint Valentine’s bloody execution or the swinger parties of the Roman elite, modern society treats 14 February as a day of love. So let’s celebrate it! Whether it be love for your partner, friends, family, pets or yourself, make sure you give a little love, not just today, but always!