Every year on February 14th, people around the world celebrate love—or complain about their lack of it. Most people associate Valentine’s woes with being single or not receiving flowers, but these problems are nothing compared to the dark past behind Cupid’s big day. The stories go back centuries, detailing injustice, forbidden love, and Greek mythology… but for now, here’s the short and sweet version of the history behind Valentine’s Day.
(featured image via Pixel-Shot/Adobe Stock)
Lupercalia
Lupercalia, a pagan celebration of fertility and health, is thought to be the true origin behind Valentine’s Day. At this festival, priests would sacrifice animals for purification and fertility. Afterward, to encourage fertility, women and crops would be slapped with hides covered in the sacrificed animals’ blood.
Later, women would place their names in a jar to be randomly chosen by single men, a match intended to inspire marriage—something that kinda sounds like a combination of The Bachelor and Survivor…
Some believe Valentine’s Day was strategically created to replace the pagan ritual with something more “Christian.” Lupercalia was eventually outlawed, and the middle of February has been reserved for Saint Valentine ever since!
Saint Valentine
While the Catholic church recognizes at least three martyred Saint Valentines, one stands out as the most romantic– albeit dark.
In third-century Rome, marriage was outlawed for single men in order to create better soldiers. Valentine continued to grant marriages to young Christian couples in love, causing him to be arrested and put to death.
While in prison, Valentine is said to have fallen in love with his jailer’s daughter. Early accounts of the story claim that he even restored the woman’s sight. In his final days, he wrote her one final letter, signed: “From your Valentine.” Historians accept this as the origin behind the modern tradition of sending Valentine’s cards.
Saint Valentine is thought to have been buried on February 14th. In celebration of love, this day became the Feast of Saint Valentine and, eventually, Valentine’s Day.
Cupid
Known to most of us as a chubby baby shooting love-laced arrows, Cupid is the Roman God of love. He’s based on the Greek God of love, Eros, meaning “desire.”
Eros is commonly depicted as a young, handsome man with wings armed with a bow and arrow to do his bidding. After Eros became Cupid to the Romans, he slowly morphed from a young man to a mischievous little infant.
Modern Day
The day of love became popular in medieval Europe and England partly due to the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who mentioned it in his poem “Parlement of Foules.” It was around this time that Valentine’s Day mainly became associated with expressing romantic love.
Valentine’s Day was widely celebrated in Great Britain in the 17th century. By the 1800s, sending and receiving letters and gifts on Valentine’s Day became a common practice. It began to skyrocket in popularity, mainly due to advancements in the printing press and the rise of pre-made cards. In 1840, Esther A. Howland began creating and mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards, making her responsible for the popularization of the practice in America.
Today, Valentine’s Day is larger than life. The National Retail Federation claims that in 2025, Americans will spend a record-breaking $27.5 billion on the holiday.
