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Valentine’s Day is the holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. It may have had beginnings in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which celebrated the coming of spring and included fertility rites and other activities, but the origin of the holiday is vague at best. What are the historical origins and meaning of Valentine's Day? Get the facts. Updated: February 4, 2025 | Original: December 22, 2009. copy page link Print Page. Ian Gavan/Getty Images for ASDA. Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, [1] is celebrated annually on February 14. [2] 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 While the commercialization of Valentine’s Day has been criticized for overshadowing the holiday’s original meaning, it has also made it more accessible to a wider audience. The proliferation of Valentine’s Day cards, gifts, and merchandise allows people from different cultures and backgrounds to participate in the celebration of love. Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day today? Valentine's Day's transformation into a holiday about romantic love can be attributed to the Romantic English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. The Times notes that Jack B. Oruch, a late University of Kansas English professor, credits Chaucer for modern ideas about Valentine's Day. Through his research, Oruch St. Valentine, a name that is synonymous with love and romance across the globe, lived at a time when the Roman Empire was at its zenith. He is often best remembered for the act of marrying couples in secret defiance of the Roman Emperor's bans. However, the truth about St. Valentine is far more complex, woven from a mixture of historical fragments, religious tradition, and folklore. This has Long before Valentine's Day was recognized as a holiday, the Romans held an annual festival called Lupercalia. Celebrated between February 13 and 15, Lupercalia was a pagan fertility festival By the early 1910s, an American company that would one day become Hallmark began distributing its more official "Valentine's Day cards." Universal Images Group / Getty Images A Valentine’s Day postcard from 1910. By the early 1910s, an American company that would one day become Hallmark began distributing its more official "Valentine's Day cards." The rest, as they say, is history. Universal Images Group / Getty Images Valentine’s Day is a romantic holiday celebrated each year on February 14. Learn about St. Valentine, Valentine's Day quotes and the ancient origins of Valentine's Day. How the Celebration of Valentine’s Day Has Changed Over Time, What Was The Original Purpose Of Valentine’s Day 2025. The celebration of Valentine’s Day has undergone a dramatic transformation throughout history. Initially a religious observance, it evolved into a secular holiday predominantly focused on romantic love. Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the ancient Romans had bloodier, drunker and more naked notions to mark the occasion. Today, the purpose of Valentine’s Day has expanded to include creative and personalized ways to show affection. From virtual dates and customized video greeting cards to social media shoutouts. The day allows people to express their emotions in genuine and unique ways. Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD, and the rest is this history. New strain in Calif. Get the USA TODAY app Start the day smarter ☀️ 🐍Year of the Snake These varied traditions illuminate the many fun and meaningful ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day beyond the conventional dinner date. Whether it’s crafting a love spoon in Wales, participating in a mass wedding in the Philippines, sending a letter to Juliet in Verona, or simply spending the day with friends in Finland or Estonia, these customs underscore the universal and diverse Valentine’s Day is filled with fun traditions, including decorating with paper hearts, trying heart-shaped food recipes, coloring everything red and pink, Cadbury’s heart-shaped boxes of chocolates appeared in the 1860s, Hershey’s Kisses in 1907, and Hallmark Valentine’s Day cards in 1913 — all of which have remained Valentine’s Day In this modern commercial-like society, large companies are gaining tremendous amount of profits from simple holidays such as Valentine's Day and Saint Patrick's Day by advertising materialistic products and gestures to the public. In consequential to this attitude, Valentine's Day had lost its true agenda which is the idea of love. Reply Delete At the end of the day, Valentine's Day stands as a far gentler event than the ancient Lupercalia. We see it through the lens of heart emojis and carefully curated dates. But the essence remains. We seek love, belonging, and renewal. We come together in big or small ways to affirm that life carries hope. Our current Valentine’s Day tradition and most poems of the day probably drew inspiration from the 18 th century English nursery rhymes: Gammer Gurton’s Garland (1734). 18 th Century to Present day
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