How Valentine’s Day Came To Be

Valentine’s Day  is a day of love, showing eternal passion and giving gifts to the one you love. Many a poet, inspired by their feelings, has written poems about their undying love and gave it to their loved ones on this special day. Those who can’t find the right words will search until they find the perfect words on a card.

Valentine’s Day is a day of sweetness and all the candy and chocolates will be forgiven. Added romance like perfume, red hearts and balloons rounds the day off.

But how did Valentine’s Day happen? Where does it come from?

Well, ancient Rome had festivities in February to honor the god of fertility who made them fruitful and ensured good crops every year. So on February 15 they had the Lupercalia feast and February 14 was declared a holiday to honor Juno, the queen of Roman gods and goddesses.

On the eve of Lupercalia they had a tradition of filling a glass jar to the rim with notes with the names of all the eligible girls. The young men each would then draw a note from the jar and the girl’s name they draw would be their partner for the celebration. This was ancient Rome’s way to introduce eligible boys and girls to each other.

The priest called Valentine

Much later on Emperor Claudius II ruled over Rome and a priest called Valentine lived there in that time.

Claudius passed a decree to prevent young men from marrying because he thought that the degree will increase the number of soldiers in his army. He was of the opinion that married men were to attached to their wives and families.

But Valentine defied him and married young couples in secret. When Claudius found out he had Valentine arrested and sentenced to death. While he waited for his execution he wrote a letter to his love and signed it ‘from your Valentine’.  He was turned into a martyr and a saint after his death and was popularly called St Valentine.

Valentine’s Day Legends

In 1914 Charles – the Duke of Orleans – wrote amorous poems to his wife in France from his prison in the tower of London. It is believed that he was one of the first creators of valentines.

Just like a Hallmark card on Valentine’s Day, in the 15th century people bought little booklets with verses in them and then combine different verses until it reads like a poem that expresses their feelings.

During the Middle Ages, people in England and France believed that birds started the search for a mate from February 14. The idea of celebrating the Valentine’s festival during the middle of February was only strengthened by this belief. This idea soon became popular amongst lovers as they began to celebrate the day with love notes and gifts.

Since then couples started to create new ways to celebrate and declare their undying love.