Valentine’s Day is known as a special time to show love and friendship, but have you ever taken the time and wondered where this holiday actually originated from? The story of Valentine’s goes way back in time, from 753 BCE up to our modern days. It started in ancient Rome around the middle of February during a period where there was a special festival called Lupercalia that allowed feasting for Roman paganism. Although it was not centralized on love and romance like today, young men and women would often come together and pair up after making sure all crops were growing healthy.
What really made the holiday what it is now, was a man named Saint Valentine. There are many stories surfacing about him however, the main idea stays the same. He was a kind priest that lived in the third century that believed affection and love should be normalized. Unfortunately, the Emperor, Claudius ll did not feel the same way. Claudius II created a rule that banned men from any sexual or platonic relationships due to the belief that men made better soldiers without distraction. Yet, Valentine secretly performed wedding ceremonies for young couples who wanted to be together. He did so believing that he was helping them find happiness, despite it being against the law. When Claudius found out about Valentine’s secret he was so angry that he imprisoned him.
Valentine spent most of his life in a cell and before he died he wrote a final letter to his friend, the jailer’s daughter, that read “From your Valentine.”
Now you know where that famous phrase came from. While we don’t know for sure what tales may be true, the sense of mystery is what makes the day interesting.
For a long time, Saint Valentine was not really linked to romantic love. That viewpoint changed in the middle ages when an English poet named Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the poem “Parlement of Foules” that connected Saint Valentine’s Day with birds choosing their mates in the spring. This idea caught on and suddenly February 14th became a day for secret admirers and writing love poems to confess.
