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 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 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. 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 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 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 We might typically associate Valentine's Day with romance, roses and chocolate, but the holiday's history has a lot more to it than meets the eye. From a Roman festival and Christian martyrs to a medieval celebration of spring , we explore the origins of Valentine's Day in more detail The History of Valentine's Day, and Why We Celebrate. Valentine’s Day may be associated with romance, but the history of the holiday isn’t exactly lovey-dovey. Here are the facts you may not know—plus, fun ideas for Valentine's Day 2025. Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated all over the world, usually as a minor holiday, but the best interpretation of the holiday (at least among heterosexual couples) goes to South Korea. We do not suggest resurrecting this practice to celebrate Valentine's Day 2025 with your loved one. Pope declared Feb. 14 as Valentine's Day in 5th Century Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St In this article, we take a look at the various historical and cultural influences that have shaped Valentine’s Day. From the mysterious figure of Saint Valentine and the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia to the medieval traditions of courtly love and the commercialization of the holiday in the modern era, we explore how February 14th became the day to celebrate love. Valentine’s Day was never named an official national holiday in the United States, but it continues to be a popular holiday in the country. How did Valentine’s Day start? Like many modern While some believe the holiday began with the death of St. Valentine, others believe that the "Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in 4. Cupid has roots in Greek mythology. Watch out around Valentine’s Day, or else you may be struck by Cupid’s arrow. According to Ti me, the ubiquitous cherub can be traced back to 700 B.C.In 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. Valentine's Day, the annual holiday that celebrates romance, is around the corner.. People around the world spend Feb. 14 celebrating romantic relationships and friendship, and many people in the Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in 496 AD, and the rest is this history. Valentine's Day had gruesome start. See how it became the holiday we celebrate today In various parts of the world, February 14th means the arrival of a special holiday – Valentine’s Day. In the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia, red hearts appear on cards, roses spring up in florists’ shops, and heart-shaped cookies and cakes adorn bakers’ windows. Walls are decorated with shiny hearts [] The untold truth about Valentine's Day: From violence to modern-day romance The romantic holiday has been celebrated for centuries, but the history behind it is much darker than red roses. valentines day has been celebrated for like hundreds of years ago. Subjects > People & Society > Holidays & Special Events. When did we start celebrating Valentine's Day? Updated: 8/18/2023
Articles and news, personal stories, interviews with experts.
Photos from events, contest for the best costume, videos from master classes.
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() |