Valentine’s Day origins
Valentine’s Day is a festival of love and affection. Every year, February 14 is a day on which couples from many countries of the world cherish their love and express their feelings for each other through various romantic gifts. The custom of celebrating love on this day dates back to both Christian and Roman traditions and has many possible sources of origin.
Valentine’s Day takes its name from Saint Valentine. Today’s historians speak of at least three saints known by that name. Historic facts and legends concerning the three Valentines intermingle with each other, but what we get in result is a clear image of Saint Valentine as the martyred patron of lovers.
Some people believe that Valentine’s Day has links with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia. It was a pagan celebration of fertility which took place around February 15. Some of the rituals and customs of Lupercalia included the pairing of young boys and girls who would stay together for the following year or sometimes fall in love and get married. Around the same time the Romans celebrated a holiday dedicated to the goddess Juno, the patron of women and marriages.
When Christianity became the dominant religion in Rome, many pagan festivals were turned into Christian holidays dedicated to Christian saints. Such was the case of Lupercalia. In the 5th century it was transformed into a holiday commemorating St. Valentine.
Yet another possible explanation of the origins of this holiday can be found in medieval tradition of France and England. People there believed that birds started their mating season on February 14. Saint Valentine’s Day was linked with romance for the first time by the medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer who used the imagery of the birds in one of his poems.
It is difficult to state which of the explanations above is the most probable and where exactly St. Valentine’s Day traces its origins. What remains without doubt is the fact that Valentine’s Day continues to be a celebration of love and romance. Through association, Saint Valentine became the patron of lovers and to this day the holiday which is dedicated to him is eagerly celebrated by couples across the world.