February 14th is a day filled with candy, flowers and of course romance. Each year Americans spend over $17 billion dollars on these items. That’s a lot of money! This holiday is very popular in the United States, yet most people don’t know how it all started. Valentine’s Day has actually more than one origin. Valentine greetings date back to the middle ages. The oldest Valentine poem was written in 1415.
There are several theories as to where Valentine’s Day began.
St. Valentine
The Catholic Church recognizes a saint named Valentine. In the third century he was a priest in Rome. He was imprisoned for trying to help Christian inmates escape from Roman prisons. While he was waiting to be put to death he sent the very first Valentine to the jailor’s daughter, who he ended up failing in love with while in prison. He signed the letter “From your Valentine”. It is often thought that Valentine’s Day is now celebrated in February to coincide with the anniversary of his death. Valentine’s are still popular today. In fact, it is the second most popular day to send out cards to someone. The oldest known Valentine that is still in existence was actually a poem. It was written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, in 1415 to his wife. Just like with Saint Valentine, Charles also wrote it for his wife while he was in prison.
Lupercalia
Dating back to ancient times, the pastoral festival called Lupercalia was officially observed from February 13 to February 15. The rituals that were carried out during this time kept evil spirits at bay, increased fertility and cleansed the city. A dog and two male goats were used as sacrifices. Women would receive lashes against their skin in order to increase their fertility. These practices were outlawed before the beginning of the 6th century. William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, actually begins by depicting a scene about Lupercalia.
Pope Gelasius
Around 498 A.D. Pope Gelasius declared that February 14th would now be known as Valentine’s Day. During this time though it wasn’t really associated with being about love and more about being a day of feasts. Coincidently enough, the mating season for birds in France and England started on February 14th back at this time so that’s how the idea of Valentine’s Day and love were combined.
Valentine’s Day has quite a questionable history. Whoever officially started it probably didn’t realize how popular it would still be today. It is estimated that 62% of Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is also celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.
