Valentine's Day: A Cloudy History

Among the countless other special dates automatically marked on our yearly calendar, 14 February is meaningful to many. Flowers are bought and cards are signed with love from their senders. And all of these things are done because they are… supposed to be? But why? There are many days, and certainly many ways outside of the arrow-slinging Cupid’s conformities to show that you care about your partner. So why is it that this day has been eternally chosen to represent a connection that is neither called upon nor created — certainly not at the whim of a Tesco advertising drive — but is as bewildering as it is beautiful?

While the origins of Valentine’s Day retain an air of mystery, even regarding which of the many Saint Valentines is being commemorated, an idea of this celebration’s roots can be traced back through a cloudy chain of history. Between 13 and 15 February, ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Lupercalia, in which women who wished to conceive were struck by animal skin strips as those who wielded them ran naked around the Palatine Hill. Quite strange, you might say, and importantly lacking in anything characteristically romantic. Yet still, the roots of February's Spring-starting fertility are seen clearly: the animal skin strips, or februa, actually give this month its name. New life and new love, perhaps. 

As the Roman Empire gradually became Christianized after the conversion of Emperor Constantine, the Pagan festivals, once scattered across its calendar, followed suit. It has been suggested that Pope Gelasius I intended to draw the focus away from this wild Pagan celebration and towards Christianity when he declared 14 February as the Feast of Saint Valentine in AD 496. But who was Saint Valentine? 

The strongest candidate is Valentine of Rome, who is said to have aided persecuted Christians before being executed in AD 269. Much of his story remains unknown, and various embellishments have since penetrated the narrative, the majority of which were included to enhance the wonder of the celebration. The scholar Bede states that Valentine’s execution was preceded by a miracle that converted 46 people to Christianity. Another retelling informs us that he fell in love with the daughter of his jailor and left her the first Valentine’s card before he was killed. The same Valentine allegedly also performed Christian weddings for soldiers who were banned from marriage. The historical accuracy of these statements is not so significant here — the myth-making is obvious. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that the wonder and creative license of story-telling occurred prior to, and without focusing on, commercial exploitation. Valentine’s Day had its canon long before it became a tool for profit. 

The clear association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love can be attributed to Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls, in which the day is attached to the mating of birds, a celebration of Springtime fertility that distantly recalls the purifying instruments of Lupercalia. By the 1400s, people had begun to follow Chaucer’s birds, as monk John Lydgate wrote that it was tradition for young men to “search Cupid’s Calendar and choose their choice with great affection.” By the 1820s, it is estimated that 200,000 Valentine’s cards were sent annually within London, a number that would rise significantly after one-penny postage stamps were introduced in 1840. 

It is easy to look at the inescapably corporate machine that is the contemporary Valentine’s Day and react with distaste: there is nothing romantic about commercialism. The cheap roses teetering on immediate expiration, the overpriced chocolates marked up to the maximum, the predicted spending of $27.5 billion expected this year in the United States. But the reality of the present day does not have to ruin what is, at its heart, a day dedicated to love. The silver lining is obvious in the genuine warmth a Valentine’s card or gift can evoke. Where there is meaningful connection, the commercial holiday that facilitates it doesn’t matter. 14 February is the most common wedding anniversary in the Philippines — not because people love to engage in their supermarkets’ advertising campaigns, but because people will grab at any chance to celebrate the ones they love.

Image from Wikimedia Commons