Valentines and Its Purpose

 The History of Valentine’s Day: Its Origins, Traditions, and Customs

           Each year, February 14th marks Valentine's Day, a worldwide day of love and admiration33. Although this holiday is generally celebrated by exchanging cards and gifts, the true meaning of the holiday is recognizing the loving relationships that unite people from many different cultures.[3] Valentine's Day is a day for lovers, and to thoroughly understand it, we must first trace the convoluted history behind this sweetheart day, including its true meaning, as well as the various ways in which people express love3.

          Valentine's Day has complex and somewhat obscure origins, most of which is just an academic discussion of various theories about its genesis[1]. One theory links it to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a pagan rest that took place in mid-February3. This festival to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, involved rituals aimed at fecundation, purification of the land, and dismissal of evil spirits3. Lupercalia did not have ties to love in the way that we practice it today, but the dates are close to each other, prompting some to speculate that the tradition prompted Valentine's Day to evolve at all[3].

          The other interesting part of the history of love on 4th February is the story of Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr3. Some of these legends make the case that he challenged Emperor Claudius II's ban against marriages (to keep men in the field and free from their wives)4. That Valentine married couples in secret, for which he was imprisoned4. Another story follows he became friends with his jailer's daughter and wrote her a note signed "from your Valentine" before he was executed[4]. Whatever the case, over time St. Valentine became associated with love and romance, helping establish the holiday’s identity4.

           The 1500s saw formal declarations of love in the form of “valentines,” with “commercial” printed cards first being used in the late 1700s[1]. The mass production of Valentine's Day cards in the 19th century, particularly through the work of Esther Howland in the United States, helped to popularize the holiday immensely[1]. These cards typically had romantic poems and elements like hearts and cupids[1].

           Valentine’s Day is all about expressing feelings for each other which come in several forms depending on how lovers relate to each other[3]. However, traditional gifts—candy and flowers, especially red roses, which represent love and beauty—are still some of the most popular; however, the most meaningful expressions often come in the way of personalized gestures1. Such as acts of service, quality time, words of affirmation, thoughtful gifts, and physical touch, each of which have special meaning to the recipient[3].

         A Final Note: February 14 is a little of each — an amalgamation of historical, cultural and personal expressions of affection3. Ending with its likely origins from ancient Roman celebrations, the legends of St. Valentine, card commercialization and the global recognition of love and connection that we know today in the form of collective love and appreciation1[2] Armed with this knowledge of Valentines' complex history, and an understanding of the diverse ways of expressing love, we can rise above the commercialisation of the occasion and learn to forge deeper and more meaningful connections with the people we love.

References:

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2025, February 7). Valentine's Day. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day

Valentines Day  - World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Valentine's_Day/ Retrieved from

(2024, February 14). Valentine’s Day 2024: Ahead of its history, significance, customs and more The Indian Express. Valentine’s day 2024: Tracing its history, significance, traditions and more

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2017, September 7). St. Valentine. Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica does not have a video to accompany this article.