Here's how it started 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. Howland’s contribution to the commercialization of Valentine’s Day helped establish the holiday as a significant occasion for gift-giving and expressing love. The Commercialization of Valentine’s Day. The modern celebration of Valentine’s Day as we know it today began to take shape in the 18th and 19th centuries. 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. Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated every February 14; this year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts The history of Valentine's Day can be traced back to ancient Roman and Christian traditions, evolving over centuries into the celebration of love and affection that we recognize today. Despite its commercialization, many people view Valentine's Day as an opportunity to express their love and appreciation for their partners, friends, and family members. Pagan Origins Written valentines began appearing in 1400, and Shakespeare referenced Valentine's Day three times in his plays in the early 1600s. In the 1800s, Esther Howland began mass-producing Valentine's Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD, and the rest is this history. Most come from Ecuador, Kenya and Columbia. Little did anyone know that in its place would come something slightly similar in terms of love and romance: Valentine’s Day. In place of Lupercalia, Pope Gelasius I started the Feast of Saint Valentine in 496 AD, and the 14 th of February was chosen as the day of the feast. 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 How to get over a break up during Valentine's Day Valentine's Day dining deals: Restaurants, food spots have holiday specials to love Valentine's Day history: From pagan origins to endless Valentine's Day has quite the history. Learn about why we celebrate Valentine's Day, the meaning of the holiday, when Valentine's Day is this year, why Valentine's Day is on February 14, and more. So, how did we get from beheading to betrothing on Valentine’s Day? Early origins of St. Valentine Ancient sources reveal that there were several St. Valentines who died on Feb. 14. While people did share Valentine’s Day greetings with one another as early as the Middle Ages, written notes weren’t as popular, probably because the literacy rate wasn’t high, either. Valentine's Day always falls on February 14, meaning that the day of the week varies year on year. In 2025, Valentine's Day will fall on a Friday for the first time since 2020. 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 The origins of Valentine’s Day are pretty obscure. While scholars generally agree that the holiday was popularized in the 1840s in the U.K. and U.S., the specific historical roots of the Today is Valentine's Day, or St Valentine's Day. It's celebrated every year on 14 February. You can find out all about the day of love here. How Did St. Valentine’s Day Originate? The origins of Valentine’s Day are murky, but the most popular story traces it back to 3rd-century Rome. Emperor Claudius II, believing that unmarried men made better soldiers, banned young men from getting married. What is the real meaning of Valentine's Day? Learn about the holiday's origins, history, traditions and why we celebrate in the first place. Candy hearts originated in the late 1800s with a The more familiar modern heart shape appears to have come on the scene from the Italian didactic poem Documenti d’amore by Francesco Barberino, a Florentine jurist, that went viral in the 14th
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