Cupid's Final Arrow: A Very Brief History Of Valentine's Day​

Roses, chocolate and Cupid… that’s what most people associate with the history of Valentine's Day. But what’s the real story behind this lovey-dovey holiday?

Well, it all starts in ancient Rome. In fact, the pagan connection with February 14th traces back to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which took place between the 13th and 15th of February. This raucous celebration was associated with fertility, health and the coming of spring. And during one of these festivals (around the third century), a saint named Valentine was martyred for his faith, setting in motion a chain of events that would eventually transform a pagan fertility rite into the holiday we know today.

But the journey from ancient Rome to modern romance is anything but straightforward. Join us as we explore the history of Valentine's Day and share Valentine's Day gift ideas, as well as some interesting facts about Valentine's Day, to impress your date.

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• What Is The Real Story Of Valentine's Day?
• Facts About Valentine's Day
• Show Your Love With An Experience

What Is The Real Story Of Valentine's Day?

For most of us, Valentine's Day means romance, chocolate hearts, letters filled with Valentine's Day quotes on partnership and a special dinner with someone we love. But did you know that romance and Valentine's Day weren't always linked? That connection didn't happen until the 14th century, when poetry started connecting the two. It's said that Geoffrey Chaucer kicked things off with a poem suggesting Valentine's Day was the most romantic day of the year when birds found their mates, drawing a sweet parallel to human love in his "Parliament of Fowls" around 1381.

Interestingly, Chaucer actually wrote that poem for a royal wedding on May 2nd. So how we ended up celebrating on February 14th is anyone’s guess. What we do know is that Chaucer's romantic poetry captured the imagination of medieval society and grew quite popular throughout Europe, eventually making its way to England, where King Henry VIII made it official. Fast forward to today, and we've turned it into a full celebration complete with Valentine's Day gifts for him or her and endless options for Valentine's Day candy to sweeten the occasion.

Is Valentine's Day Based On A True Story?

Now, this romantic origin story is just the tip of the iceberg. The dark truth about Valentine's Day is that this holiday is essentially based on the commemoration of a Roman Catholic saint named Valentine, who was martyred on this date. In fact, there are multiple Saint Valentines commemorated on February 14th and approximately three different stories about which Saint Valentine forms the basis for the history of Valentine's Day​. What these legends do agree upon is that Valentine was born in 226 AD in Umbria, Italy and served as a priest or bishop under Emperor Claudius II. We also know that Valentine was executed on February 14th, 269 AD, which means the history of Valentine's Day didn't begin as a romantic holiday at all, but rather as a religious remembrance connected with a Christian martyr. 

The story goes that Valentine was arrested for either marrying Christians (which was illegal) or performing weddings for soldiers (who weren't allowed to marry). Either way, he was breaking Roman law and was summarily arrested for his crimes. Now, the most touching part of the legend happened while Valentine was in prison. He supposedly met his jailor's blind daughter, prayed for her and miraculously restored her sight. Both she and her father converted to Christianity after witnessing this miracle. But despite — or maybe because of — this spiritual moment, Valentine was still executed on February 14th. The Catholic Church commemorated him on the anniversary of his death, as they typically do with saints.

Now, fast forward several centuries, and we find Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" where Ophelia mentions Valentine's Day, helping spread the idea of having a "valentine." Then in the 18th century, someone published a spiced-up version of Saint Valentine's story with a detail that really stuck: after healing the jailor's daughter, Valentine supposedly wrote her a letter signed "from your Valentine." True or not, this launched the whole tradition of Valentine's cards that we still do today and that's how we got the modern Valentine's Day.

Once greeting cards could be mass-produced during the Industrial Revolution, they started showing up everywhere, and chocolate companies like Cadbury jumped on the opportunity with those iconic heart-shaped boxes. From there, the commercialization just exploded into what we see today.

Is February 14 A Pagan Holiday?

Valentine’s Day gets a lot of flak for being extravagantly commercial. Hundreds of millions of cards and letters are sent back and forth in the U.S. alone and over $4 billion dollars is spent on chocolate on this one day. While it truly is an astonishing display of commercial activity and many people feel understandably annoyed by the marketing machinery behind it, the concept itself isn't necessarily problematic, and the history of Valentine's Day​ is incredibly fascinating.

The dark truth about Valentine's Day is that it likely started with the Roman festival of Lupercalia, as briefly mentioned above, which is why some scholars consider it a pagan holiday. However, the general consensus is that it has Christian roots and started with honoring a martyred saint named Valentine.

Whatever the story is, Valentine's Day, like many holidays, is a beautiful mashup of traditions that have been blending and evolving for almost 2,000 years. It's simultaneously a nod to Christian sacrifice, ancient fertility rituals, medieval romance, and yes, modern consumerism — all rolled into one February celebration.

History Of Valentine's Day In America

After Chaucer’s poem linked February 14th to birds finding their mates, Valentine's Day began to appear more frequently in literature and steadily grew in popularity. People soon began exchanging sweet, handwritten notes, particularly in Europe, which inspired an American woman named Esther Howland to pioneer the mass production of Valentine's cards in the 1800s. This earned her the nickname "the Mother of the American Valentine," and thanks to her, suddenly, everyday people could afford to send Valentine's cards, and they weren't just for the wealthy anymore.

But the history of Valentine's Day in America didn't stop with cards. Over the next hundred years or so, things really took off. People started giving all sorts of gifts, including flowers, chocolates, and jewelry, and before you knew it, an entire industry had built around the holiday. And it wasn't just for couples anymore. These days, people give Valentine's gifts to family members, friends, and even coworkers. The holiday evolved from being strictly about romance to being about showing love and appreciation to basically anyone who matters to you. You can even celebrate the special day with special Starbucks Valentine's drinks!

What’s more, American pop culture recently gave us "Galentine's Day," celebrated on February 13th. The concept came from the TV show "Parks and Recreation" back in 2010, and it's all about women celebrating their female friendships. It's such a great twist on the traditional holiday and is typically celebrated with brunch with the girls instead of a romantic dinner for two. It’s just another example of how Valentine's Day keeps evolving with the times.

Facts About Valentine's Day

Now that we’ve explored the history of Valentine's Day in America, let’s check out some interesting facts about Valentine’s Day you may not have heard of:

• Teachers get more Valentine's cards than anyone else.
• Argentina celebrates Valentine's Day for an entire week, and then they do it all over again by having another "sweetness week" in July!
• In Japan and South Korea, things work a little differently on Valentine’s Day. Women are the ones who give chocolates to men, including boyfriends, friends and coworkers. Then on March 14th (called White Day), the guys give gifts back. There's also the reverse in South Korea, called "Black Day," an unofficial holiday on April 14 for singles to eat black bean noodles (jajangmyeon).
• Christmas is actually a bigger card-giving holiday than Valentine's Day.
• In the Philippines, hundreds of couples marry on Valentine's Day in massive group ceremonies.
• In Finland, they celebrate "Friend's Day" instead, which is all about appreciating your friends. 

Show Your Love With An Experience

Valentine's Day date ideas are so much better when you actually do something fun together, so why not go for something fun like cooking together at a fun class or hitting up one of those paint and sip classes where bad art is literally encouraged. If you're feeling crafty, making some pottery together is adorable and you get cute matching mugs out of it. Plus, candle-making lessons make for the coziest date ever. Whatever you choose, what matters the most is making awesome memories with your person and celebrating your love in a way that feels authentic to you both.

Whether you love Valentine's Day or think it's overrated, you can't deny it's had quite the journey. From ancient pagan fertility rites to Christian martyrdom and hand-crafted cards 1,800 years later, it’s been through a lot. So next time someone asks you; "Is Valentine based on a true story?" you’ll now know what to say. In fact, we're willing to bet you’ll be the most interesting date this Valentine’s with all the fascinating facts about Valentine's Day you have up your sleeve.

Now that you know the history, you can enjoy this day of love with someone who matters, doing something fun and exciting. For fun Valentine's Day ideas, check out experiences happening on Classpop!