Who Was St. Valentine? How Did the Tradition of Valentine’s Day Begin?
February 14 is just around the corner. If you have a sweetheart, or maybe just someone you fancy, it’s a time for cards, flowers, candy or all of the above. How did Valentine’s Day originate? Who was the person after whom the day is named?
Who Was St. Valentine?
A more accurate question might be “who were the various St. Valentines associated with the holiday”? Technically, Valentine’s Day (also called “St. Valentine’s Day”) marks a Christian holy day known as the Feast of Saint Valentine. One of the first recorded references to a celebration in honor of Valentine on February 14 was found in the 8th century CE. However, it’s unclear just exactly which Valentine the feast honors. Most scholars believe that the namesake for the day was one of two martyrs:
- Valentine of Rome, a priest who died in 269 CE and was canonized by Pope Gelasius I in 496 CE. The church kept relics of Valentine of Rome in the Catacombs of San Valentino throughout the Middle Ages and still displays a flower-crowned skull of the martyr in a basilica in Rome. Other relics of Valentine of Rome are on display in Dublin, Ireland.
- Valentine of Terni, a bishop in central Italy who was believed to have been martyred just four years after Valentine of Rome
The Origins of the Modern Valentine’s Day
The first reference to Valentine’s Day as a celebration of romantic love can be found in the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. In his poem entitled Parliament of Fowls, in 1382, he wrote about the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia, referring to it as “Valentynes day.”
Some 20 years later, in a charter issued by the French monarch Charles VI, there is a lengthy description of a feast at Valentines Day, which included love song and love poetry competitions. Valentine’s day also gets mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare, when Ophelia (in Hamlet) makes reference to the day.
In 1797, the Young Man’s Valentine Writer appeared in England, offering romantic verses that young males could recite, should they be unable to compose their own. That began the tradition of “sending Valentines,” as enterprising printers sold cards with verses. The first mass-produced Valentines cards were available in the United States around 1850. In 1868, famed chocolatier Cadbury sold its first heart-shaped box of confections. Industry analysts say that more than $20 billion is now spent every year on Valentines cards and gifts.
