Valentine’s day is generally a well-known holiday, most memorable for the chocolates and flowers being exchanged, but how did it come to be how it is today?
The first traces of Valentine’s day go back to 6th century B.C. During that time, it was celebrated on the 15th of February and was known as The Lupercalia Celebration, which wasn’t a light-hearted celebration by any means. Nothing near what we celebrate now.
Saint Valentine came along in the 3rd century BC and was marrying couples illegally. The day before his execution, he tagged a note to a girl named Julia with “From your Valentine”. This could be how we got the trend of writing “From your Valentine” in letters today.
In the 5th Century AD, Pope Gelasius repressed The Lupercalia Celebration and named February 14th a day to celebrate Saint Valentine instead. He celebrated Saint Valentine because of his reputation as a “patron of lovers”.
By the Middle Ages, people were saying poetry lines to each other and believed that birds found their mates on February 14th. They had also begun giving flowers to each other and there may have been some cards being exchanged.
In the early 1800s companies began mass-producing Valentine’s cards as well as chocolates. By the time the 2000s came around, people were putting fancy laces on cards with machines and producing Valentine’s kits for kids to pass out to their friends.
In conclusion, Valentine’s Day has changed so much from where it began. Beginning from a dark tradition centuries ago to the conversation hearts that we love today, Valentine’s Day is a holiday that many celebrate, or don’t, that will probably go on for the years to come.