Today, February 14 is all about love, but it wasn’t always this way. Once, Valentine’s Day was a violent celebration. Find out more about the origins of Valentine’s Day now!
How Valentine’s Day Came to Celebrate Love
February 14, the day of love. A day set aside just to celebrate romantic love. Those who have just begun dating and those who have been married for fifty years or more will make plans to go to dinner, exchange gifts, and spend time together. However, Valentine’s Day wasn’t always a celebration of romantic love. Once, it was a much darker event. Some of the first celebrations around February 14th include:
- The Lupercalia Festival
- The Feast of St. Valentine
- The Charter of the Court of Love
These could be included in your creation of a personalized Valentine’s Day ecard to send to your love!
The Lupercalia Festival
Some historians believe that the Festival of Lupercalia in ancient Rome would plant the seeds of what we know today as Valentine’s Day. Lupercalia was a feast to honor Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and a mythical character called the Capitoline Wolf. The legend goes that the wolf suckled Juno’s sons, Romulus and Remus, who would become the co-founders of Rome, when they were lost as infants.
Then, in about the 6th Century BC, Luperci priests would take to the streets after anointing their foreheads with the blood of dogs and goats they had sacrificed. Dogs and goats were a sign of virility. After wiping clean the sacrificial knife and their foreheads, the priests would cut strips of goat hide and run through the streets, whipping any women nearby with the hide.
Some women would step in front of the priests, wanting to be hit with the hide because they saw this as a way to help in the delivery of their future children or to free them from barrenness.
The Feast of St. Valentine
Several early Christian Popes tried to abolish the Lupercalia Festival; Pope Gelasius in the fourth century finally succeeded in creating the Feast of St. Valentine, celebrated on February 14. This was a celebration to honor the Christian martyr St. Valentine, who was said to marry Christian couples in secret and to help Christians who were being persecuted for their faith.
The Charter of the Court of Love
This festival began in AD 1400 by King Charles VI of France during the plague. The celebration was supposed to be a distraction for people because of the trying times. To celebrate, court members would meet for dinner in Paris on February 14, and they would sing an original love song to the girl of their choice. The songs would be judged by the young women at the event and the best song would “win”.
This celebration is what led to the exchange of candy, gifts, and flowersthat we recognize as Valentine’s Day today.
The Earliest Valentine
Did you know that one of the earliest Valentine’s is thought to be Geoffrey Chaucer’s book, The Parliament of Fowls? Chaucer wrote the book because most people in Medieval Europe believed that birds choose their life mates; he wrote the book, imagining that the goddess Nature was pairing off all of the birds in preparation of Valentine’s Day. Nature dreams that as he passes by the Temple of Venus that the birds have gathered to choose their mates. But, three male eagles debate to win the heart of a single female eagle, things go awry, and none of the male eagles win the heart of the female. More facts about The Parliament of Fowls:
- The poem is 699 lines
- At the end, the birds welcome Spring
- It was written between 1381 and 1382
- It was also known as the Parlement of Foules and the Assembly of Fowls or Assemble of Foules
How to Make Valentine’s Day Memorable
The key to making Valentine’s Day special for your loved one is to make it personal. Think of things that you like to do together or that you perhaps don’t make enough time for during your day-to-day lives. Perhaps you could go on a picnic, see a movie, or spend a night over a leisurely dinner without the kids at the table. There are many more ways to make Valentine’s Day special for your spouse found here.
How to Write a Valentine’s Day eCard in Just 5 Minutes
Writing a Valentine’s Day ecard is all about the sentiment. Valentine’s Day ecards can be sent to a romantic love, but they can also be sent to best friends, children, parents, and grandparents. There are several ways to begin a Valentine’s card:
- Happy Valentine’s Day
- Today, tomorrow, and forever, Happy Valentine’s Day
- It wasn’t love at first sight. It took a whole five minutes. ~ Lucille Ball
- In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine. ~ Maya Angelou
Once you have chosen the sentiment for your card, sign your name. Then double check the email address so that you know the card will arrive at the right address. The final step is to schedule the card. You will want the Valentine’s card to arrive early in the day, so schedule it to arrive in the morning hours, and remember that time zones may be different where you are and where your loved one is.
FAQs
Others say it is rooted in the history of Saint Valentine himself. The evidence indicates that the origins of Valentine's Day are more likely tied to a 14th-century poem by Geoffrey Chaucer than to a 3rd-century Christian saint.
What does the Bible say about Valentine's day? ›
1 John 4:7-12. Dear friends: let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
What is the dark truth about Valentine's day? ›
One Valentine was a priest in third-century Rome who defied Emperor Claudius II after the ruler outlawed marriage for young men. St. Valentine would perform marriages in secret for young lovers, ultimately leading to his death.
What is the history of Valentine's day short summary? ›
The history of Valentine's Day goes back to 3rd century Rome with the execution of a priest named Valentinus known today as St. Valentine. Every February 14th, millions across the globe send their loved ones heart-shaped cards and Valentine's Day chocolates to express their love and affection.
What is the true story behind Valentine's day? ›
Turns out, it was a pretty common name during Late Antiquity. As far as anyone can tell, the Saint Valentine of Valentine's Day was one of two guys preaching the good word in Rome in the third century. One of these two was martyred on February 14th 269, thus giving us the date for his eponymous day.
What is the day from 7 to 14 in February? ›
A weeklong celebration of love and passion is known as Valentine's Week. It begins on February 7 and runs through February 14; each day has a different theme to celebrate love.
What is the evil story behind Valentine's Day? ›
Saint Valentine
As the story goes, during Valentine's imprisonment he tried converting Claudius to Christianity. Claudius became enraged and ordered Valentine to reject his faith or be killed. He refused to forsake his faith, so Valentine was beheaded.
Where is Valentine located in the Bible? ›
Valentine's Day is a peculiar Christian holiday not mentioned in the New Testament—unsurprisingly, as it was instituted in honor of a third-century c.e. “saint” named Valentine.
What is Valentine stand for? ›
Valentines and Valentine's Day get their name from feast day of Saint Valentine, but there are at least two saints named Valentine, one of whom became a martyr around the year 270 CE. The name Valentine comes from a Latin word meaning “strength.”
What is the hidden meaning of Valentine's Day? ›
It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.
Some trace Valentine's Day origins to a Christian effort to replace a pagan fertility festival that has been dated as far back as the 6th century B.C. During the festival of Lupercalia, Roman priests would sacrifice goats and dogs and use their blood-soaked hides to slap women on the streets, as a fertility blessing.
What is the mystery behind Valentine's Day? ›
As the legend goes, according to History, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men were better soldiers than those with wives and families. So, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine felt this was an injustice, so he defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret.
What is the spiritual meaning of Valentine's day? ›
While the holiday has undergone secularization over time, its origins in Christian martyrdom and acts of love align with broader spiritual themes of compassion, selflessness, and devotion. For some, Valentine's Day serves as a reminder of the importance of love in both human relationships and spiritual practice.
What is the logic behind Valentine's day? ›
While imprisoned, Valentine cared for his fellow prisoners and also his jailor's blind daughter. Legend has it that Valentine cured the girl's blindness and that his final act before being executed was to write her a love message signed 'from your Valentine'. Valentine was executed on 14 February in the year 270.
Should Christians celebrate Valentine's day? ›
If that works for you, do it. But the biblical pattern teaches us that romantic love between husband and wife should be on display often and much. It isn't that celebrating Valentine's Day is too much; it is too little and weak. Christians, live your married years so that you don't need Valentine's Day.
Who started Valentine's day Why? ›
Valentine is likely based on a combination of two Valentines who were executed on February 14 in different years by Roman Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century A.C.E., according to NPR. The Catholic Church maybe have established St. Valentine's Day to honor these two martyrs.
Who was Saint Valentine and what did he do? ›
Saint Valentine was a clergyman – either a priest or a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine (Saint Valentine's Day) since at least the eighth century.
What is the purpose of Valentine's day? ›
Valentine's Day 14 February. What is Valentine's Day? St Valentine's Day is an annual festival to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration. Every year on 14 February people celebrate this day by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends.
