How did a day that involved whipping people with goat skin in Ancient Rome turn into a global celebration of overpriced roses and heart-shaped boxes?
Valentine’s Day has one of the most chaotic “origin stories” in history. If you think your dating life is already complicated, just keep reading and see how this holiday even started.
Most of us think that Valentine’s Day is just a gimmick by greeting card companies to sell more products. While it is now a multi-billion dollar industry, the true story behind this holiday is weirder, darker, and honestly more interesting than a box of chocolates.
The Chaotic Lupercalia
Before it became a saint’s day, the Romans celebrated Lupercalia from February 13 to 15. And no, this was not a candlelit dinner.
To honor Faunus 1 and the founders of Rome, priests would sacrifice goats and dogs. They would then cut strips of goat skin, dip them in blood, go out into the streets, and (gently) slap women and crops with them. Instead of being offended, Roman women would actually line up to be hit, believing it would bring them fertility in the coming year.
Will The Real St. Valentine Please Stand Up
Eventually, the Catholic Church “Christianized” this festival in the 5th century and named it after Saint Valentine. But the identity of St. Valentine remains a mystery. There were two, or possibly three, different martyrs named Valentine.
The most popular story is about a priest named Valentine in 3rd-century Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with families, he banned young men from getting married. Valentine felt this was unjust, so he continued performing marriages in secret. Not long after, he was caught, and the emperor ordered his execution.
The First Valentine
Another legend says that while Valentine was in prison, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Before his execution on February 14, he allegedly wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine”, an expression we still use even after 1,700 years.
There is also a less popular version where Valentine was executed for helping Christians escape from Roman prisons.
How Chaucer Invented Romance
For centuries, this holiday was more of a religious feast than a romantic one. But that changed during the Middle Ages. The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is often credited as the first to connect St. Valentine’s Day with romantic love, because of his 1381 poem Parliament of Fowls.
During that time, Europeans believed that birds began their mating season on February 14. Chaucer wrote: “For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird comes there to choose his mate.” Soon after, European nobility began writing love notes on February 14, and that’s how the “Valentine’s Day” we know today was born.
Victorian "Glow-Up" and Mass Production
Everything changed again during the 18th and 19th centuries with the Industrial Revolution.
Handwritten notes were replaced by mass-produced cards decorated with lace and ribbons.
Esther Howland, known as the “Mother of the American Valentine,” started selling the first mass-produced Valentine cards in the U.S. in the 1840s.
The “Vinegar Valentine”
Not everyone was a fan of Valentine’s Day. During the Victorian era, people also sent anonymous insulting cards called “Vinegar Valentines” 2 to reject unwanted suitors or simply to tease neighbors.
Valentine’s Day Today
As Western influence expanded, Valentine’s Day spread worldwide. Today, it has evolved into a global celebration of all kinds of love: romantic, platonic (Galentine’s Day), and even self-love. Whether you go all out every February 14 or just wait for discounted chocolates on February 15, you are still part of a tradition that has gone through almost two millennia of change.
In the Philippines, it has also become part of mainstream celebrations. There are mass weddings, e-commerce flash sales (Lazada, Shopee), love-themed concerts, flower deliveries, mall promos, gifts, jewelry, restaurants, cinemas, theme parks, hotels (and motels), and more. The Philippines is one of the most active countries in Asia when it comes to Valentine’s celebrations.
Valentine’s Day really traveled through centuries just to remind us that… love is timeless.
And there’s still a market you can profit from on this day 😁
Happy Valentine’s Day ♥︎ Love someone ♥︎ Love your friends ♥︎ Love your family ♥︎ Love yourself ♥︎
What do you think?
Are you a fan of the traditional flowers-and-chocolate route, or do you prefer a more low-key celebration? Comment and share your thoughts.
If you still want more, you can read about Galentine’s Day.
You might also want to find out why this post is related to the song 214 by Rivermaya.
It’s also a good idea to watch the movie Dakota Skye this Valentine’s Day.