History of Valentine's Day - Daily Dose Documentary

History of Valentine’s Day

st valentine secretly marries young lovers stained glass

Throughout much of human history, February has long been celebrated as a month of romance and fertility, stemming from a blurred mix of pagan and Christian traditions. For instance, the Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of who were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men.

Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered him put to death.

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial–which probably occurred around A.D. 270–others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place Valentine’s Day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia.

Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15th , Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of bird mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February should be a celebration of romance for humans as well.

History of the Valentine

Americans began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s, while in the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentine’s card in America.

Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” In 2019, Americans spent on average $162.00 each to lavish gifts upon their loved ones. Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each and every year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-giving holiday of the year.