Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated every year on February 14. It began as a Christian holiday to honor a martyr named Valentine. Over time, through customs and traditions, it has become an important celebration of love, commitment, and romance in many parts of the world.

There are several stories about different Saint Valentines connected to February 14. One story tells of Saint Valentine of Rome, who was imprisoned for helping Christians who were being persecuted by the Roman Empire in the third century. According to an early tradition, Saint Valentine healed the blindness of the daughter of his jailer. Later stories added details about love, such as Saint Valentine secretly marrying Christian soldiers who were not allowed to marry by the Roman emperor. A story from the 18th century says he wrote a farewell letter to the daughter of his jailer, ending with "Your Valentine."

The 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the Feast of Saint Valentine being celebrated on February 14. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the day became linked to romantic love, possibly because of the idea of "lovebirds" that appear in early spring. By the 18th century in England, people began giving flowers, candy, and greeting cards (called "valentines") to show their love. Symbols used today include heart shapes, doves, and the image of Cupid, the god of love. In the 19th century, handmade cards were replaced by mass-produced greetings. In Italy, Saint Valentine's keys are given to lovers as a symbol of love and an invitation to open the giver's heart. These keys are also given to children to protect them from a condition called Saint Valentine's Malady, which is a type of epilepsy.

The Feast of Saint Valentine is observed as a day of remembrance in the Lutheran Church and is included in the church's list of saints. It is also celebrated in the Anglican Communion. Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church honor Saint Valentine's Day on July 6 for Roman presbyter Saint Valentine and on July 30 for Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern-day Terni).

Saint Valentine

Many early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 include Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and buried on the Via Flaminia. The remains of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which remained an important place for pilgrims during the Middle Ages until the remains were moved to the church of Santa Prassede during the time when Nicholas IV was pope (1288–1292). The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is displayed in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. Other remains are located at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (now Terni, in central Italy) and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273. He is buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His remains are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino). Professor Jack B. Oruch of the University of Kansas notes that "abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe." A relic believed to be Saint Valentine of Terni's head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster, Winchester, and venerated.

The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions a third saint named Valentine, who was listed in early martyrologies under February 14. He was martyred in Africa with several companions, but no other details are known about him.

February 14 is celebrated as Saint Valentine's Day in various Christian denominations. For example, it has the rank of "commemoration" in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion. The feast day of Saint Valentine is included in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church. In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14 was moved from the General Roman Calendar to local or national calendars because "though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." However, since Saint Valentine remains in the Roman Martyrology, he may be recognized optionally during mass outside of Christmastide and Eastertide.

The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta), where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also worldwide by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar (see General Roman Calendar of 1960).

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Saint Valentine is recognized on July 6, when Saint Valentine, the Roman presbyter, is honored. Additionally, the Eastern Orthodox Church observes the feast of Hieromartyr Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on July 30.

J.C. Cooper, in The Dictionary of Christianity, writes that Saint Valentine was "a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for helping persecuted Christians." Records of Saint Valentine were likely destroyed during the Diocletianic Persecution in the early 4th century. In the 5th or 6th century, a work called Passio Marii et Marthae published a story of Saint Valentine of Rome's martyrdom, possibly borrowing details from other saints' stories, which was common in writings of that time.

The same events are found in Bede's Martyrology, compiled in the 8th century. It states that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and tried to convince him to convert to Roman paganism to save his life. Valentine refused and instead tried to convert Claudius to Christianity. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is said to have healed Julia, the blind daughter of his jailer Asterius. Julia and her family, including forty-six members of her household, came to believe in Jesus and were baptized.

A later Passio repeated the legend, adding that Pope Julius I built a church over Saint Valentine's grave. This is a confusion with a 4th-century tribune named Valentino, who donated land for a church during Julius's time as pope. The legend was later included in martyrologies, starting with Bede's martyrology in the 8th century. It was repeated in the 13th century in The Golden Legend.

An additional detail in The Golden Legend, added in the 18th century and widely repeated, claims that on the evening before his execution, Saint Valentine wrote the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to Julia, the daughter of his jailer Asterius, who was no longer blind. He signed it "Your Valentine." The phrase "From your Valentine" later became common in modern Valentine letters. This story has been published by both American Greetings and The History Channel.

John Foxe, a 16th-century English historian, and the Order of Carmelites state that Saint Valentine was buried in the Church of Saint Praxedes in Rome, near the cemetery of Saint Hippolytus. According to legend, Julia herself planted a pink-flowered almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of lasting love and friendship.

Another story suggests that Saint Valentine secretly performed Christian weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Emperor Claudius II supposedly banned marriage to grow his army, believing married men were not good soldiers. However, George Monger writes that this ban was never issued, and Claudius II told soldiers to take two or three women for themselves after his victory over the Goths.

According to legend, to remind soldiers of their vows and God's love, Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment and gave them to soldiers and persecuted Christians. This may be the origin of the widespread use of hearts on Saint Valentine's Day.

Saint Valentine is

Folk traditions

Although modern traditions now focus on romantic love, some older European customs linked to Saint Valentine and Saint Valentine's Day still connect to the arrival of spring.

The tradition of giving cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts began in the United Kingdom. However, Valentine's Day continues to be tied to local customs in England. In Norfolk, a figure named "Jack" Valentine visits homes, knocking on the back door and leaving sweets and gifts for children. Even though he brings treats, many children were frightened by this mysterious person.

In Slovenia, Saint Valentine, also known as Zdravko, was a spring saint associated with good health. He was also the patron of beekeepers and travelers. A saying in Slovenia states, "Saint Valentine brings the keys of roots," meaning plants and flowers begin to grow on this day. People celebrate it as the time when work in vineyards and fields starts. It is also believed that birds begin to pair up or marry on this day. Another saying says, "Valentin – prvi spomladin" ("Valentine – the first spring saint"), as in some areas, like White Carniola, Saint Valentine marks the start of spring. Valentine's Day has only recently been connected to love. In the past, the day of love was celebrated on March 12 (Saint Gregory's Day) or February 22 (Saint Vincent's Day). Saint Anthony, the patron of love, was honored on June 13.

Connection with romantic love

The "Feast" (Latin: in natali, meaning "on the birthday") of Saint Valentine began in Christendom and was celebrated by the Western Church to honor one of the Christian martyrs named Valentine, as noted in the 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary. In Ancient Rome, the festival of Lupercalia was held from February 13 to 15 to honor the pagan gods Pan and Juno, who were associated with love, marriage, and fertility. This festival focused on purification and health, with only a small connection to fertility and no link to love. The celebration of Saint Valentine did not have romantic meanings until the 14th century, when poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about "Valentine's Day," about 700 years after Lupercalia was no longer observed.

Lupercalia was a festival specific to Rome. A similar event, the Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier" or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) is said to have ended Lupercalia, but historian Bruce Forbes noted that there is no proof connecting Saint Valentine's Day to Lupercalia, despite claims by some writers.

Some scholars suggest that Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with the celebration of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which later became linked to romantic love in the 14th century. However, there is no historical evidence that Gelasius I intended this connection. The dates also do not match, as the feast of the Purification was celebrated in Jerusalem on February 14, but it later moved to February 2 when it spread to Rome and other places in the sixth century.

Modern sources sometimes claim that men or boys drew names from a jar during Lupercalia to pair with women, but there is no ancient evidence of such a practice. The idea of a lottery for pairing couples first appeared in the 15th century in relation to Valentine's Day, with a connection to Lupercalia later suggested by 18th-century writers like Alban Butler and Francis Douce.

The tradition of sending valentines began in the Middle Ages, with boys drawing the names of girls at random. Some priests, like Frances de Sales around 1600, tried to stop this custom by replacing it with a religious practice where girls drew the names of apostles from the altar. This practice was recorded as early as the 13th century in the life of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, suggesting it may have a different origin.

The first known link between Saint Valentine's Day and romantic love appears in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls (1382), a poem about birds choosing mates. This work honored the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. Some believe Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Saint Valentine’s Day, but others suggest he may have meant the feast day of St. Valentine of Genoa, which was celebrated on May 3. A treaty for the marriage of Richard II and Anne was signed on May 2, 1381.

The date of spring has changed since Chaucer’s time due to the precession of the equinoxes and the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582. On the Julian calendar used in Chaucer’s time, February 14 would have been closer to February 23, when some birds in England began mating.

Chaucer’s Parliament of Fowls describes a tradition that had no prior record before his time. The idea that Valentine’s Day customs originated from Lupercalia was first proposed by 18th-century writers and has been repeated by many scholars since.

Other poets, such as Otton de Grandson, John Gower, and Pardo, also wrote about birds mating on Saint Valentine’s Day around the same time. However, it is unclear which of these works influenced the others.

The earliest known celebration of love on February 14 appears in the Charter of the Court of Love, allegedly issued by King Charles VI of France in 1400. This document described lavish events attended by the royal court, including poetry contests and jousting. No other records of this court exist, and only the queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, was present at Mantes-la-Jolie.

The earliest surviving valentine is a 15th-century poem written by Charles, Duke of Orléans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt (1415).

The first English valentines appear in the Paston Letters (1477), where Margery Brews wrote to her future husband, John Paston, calling him "my right well-beloved Valentine."

Saint Valentine’s Day is also mentioned in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1600–1601), where Ophelia laments, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance."

John Donne used the story of birds mating as inspiration for his poem celebrating the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, and Frederick V, Elector Palatine, on Valentine’s Day.

The phrase "Roses are red" echoes themes found in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590).

The modern Valentine’s Day poem "Roses are red" appears in Gammer Gurton’s Garland (1784), a collection of nursery rhymes.

In 1797, a British publisher released The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, offering sentimental verses for lovers who could not write their own. By the early 19th century, paper Valentines were mass-produced in factories. Fancy Valentines used real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century. In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in the United Kingdom, despite high postage costs.

Celebration and status worldwide

Valentine's Day traditions, such as giving greeting cards (called "valentines"), offering candy, and giving flowers, began in early modern England. These traditions spread to English-speaking countries during the 19th century and later reached other nations, similar to how Halloween and Christmas traditions became popular.

Today, Valentine's Day is celebrated in many East Asian countries, with people in Singapore, China, and South Korea spending the most money on gifts.

In most Latin American countries, such as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, Saint Valentine's Day is called Día de los Enamorados ("Lovers' Day") or Día del Amor y la Amistad ("Love and Friendship Day"). People often do kind things for their friends. In Guatemala, it is called Día del Cariño ("Affection Day"). In the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, people play a game called Amigo secreto ("secret friend"), similar to the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa.

In Brazil, Valentine's Day is celebrated on June 12 as Dia dos Namorados ("Lovers' Day" or "Boyfriends/Girlfriends Day"). This date is close to Saint Anthony's Day, a time when some women perform rituals to find a partner. Couples exchange gifts, chocolates, cards, and flowers. Valentine's Day on February 14 is not celebrated in Brazil because it is near Carnival, a festival that happens in February or March.

In Colombia, Love and Friendship Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in September. Amigo Secreto is also popular there.

In the United States, about 190 million Valentine's Day cards are sent each year, not counting those exchanged by students. Valentine's Day is a major source of income, with spending reaching $18.2 billion in 2017, or about $136 per person. This was higher than the $108 per person spent in 2010. People buy jewelry, flowers, chocolates, candy, and cards. Red roses are the most popular flower, often imported from Colombia and Ecuador. Locally grown tulips are also popular in the spring.

A 2019 survey found that fewer people celebrated Valentine's Day over the past decade. Reasons included the holiday becoming too commercial, not having a partner to celebrate with, and not wanting to celebrate.

In Afghanistan, before the Taliban took control, a street called Koch-e-Gul-Faroushi ("Flower Street") in Kabul was decorated with flowers to celebrate Valentine's Day. Love is often expressed through poetry in Afghan culture. Some poets use Valentine's Day to write about freedom and politics, even saying "I kiss you amid the Taliban" to show courage.

In Bangladesh, Valentine's Day was first celebrated in 1993 by Shafik Rehman, a journalist who learned about Western traditions while studying in London. He introduced the holiday to Bangladesh through his newspaper. People in all types of relationships, such as lovers, friends, and families, give gifts like flowers, chocolates, and cards. Valentine's Day is not a public holiday in Bangladesh, but some people believe it is not acceptable from a cultural or religious perspective.

In China, Valentine's Day is called "Lovers' Festival" and is celebrated as the Qixi Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. This festival is based on a story about two stars, the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid, who are allowed to meet once a year across the Milky Way. In recent years, some young people in China also celebrate White Day, a similar tradition.

In ancient India, people honored Kamadeva, the god of love, as shown in carvings at the Khajuraho monuments and in the Kamasutra. This tradition faded during the Middle Ages, when public displays of love were discouraged. Valentine's Day was not widely celebrated in India until 1992, when TV shows, radio programs, and the growth of the greeting card industry helped spread the tradition.

A 2018 survey found that 68% of people in India did not want to celebrate Valentine's Day. Many Hindu, Muslim, and Christian groups in India oppose the holiday, calling it a Western influence. Some traditionalists believe it harms Indian culture, while others criticize it as a tool for Western companies to make money. Despite these concerns, more people in India now celebrate Valentine's Day.

Some Indian intellectuals criticize Valentine's Day as a symbol of Western control and exploitation. They argue that the holiday harms working-class and rural communities by promoting consumerism and separating people from traditional values. Right-wing Hindu groups also oppose the holiday, with some activists threatening to punish couples who show affection in public.

Restrictions on Valentine's Day in some countries

Valentine's Day has been restricted or not allowed in some countries because of cultural and religious reasons. In Indonesia and Uzbekistan, some areas have not allowed or limited celebrations due to concerns about Western culture and religious beliefs. In Brunei, officials have told Muslims not to celebrate the holiday, though non-Muslims may observe it privately. In Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, celebrations are usually quiet or done in private because of cultural and religious care. In Somalia, some areas have stopped or banned the holiday because religious leaders think it goes against Islamic teachings.