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The Dark Origins, Untold Story Of Valentine’s Day

Published

1 month ago

Feb 14, 2025.

Valentine’s Day began with ancient Roman festivals and early Christian martyrs.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s poetry in the 14th century linked it to romance.
Today, different cultures celebrate it with unique traditions worldwide.

Valentine’s Day is often seen as a day of love, chocolates, and flowers, but its origins are far darker and more complex than the sweet traditions we know today.

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EKO HOT BLOG gathered that the history of February 14th goes back centuries, involving ancient Roman festivals, early Christian martyrs, medieval poetry, and cultural influences from around the world.

The name “Valentine” is linked to at least two different men who lived during the Roman Empire.

The most famous is Saint Valentine of Rome, a priest who, according to legend, secretly performed Christian weddings for soldiers, defying Emperor Claudius II, who had banned marriages for young men, believing single soldiers fought better.

When Valentine was caught, he was sentenced to death. While in prison, he was said to have healed the blind daughter of his jailer, and before his execution on February 14th, he sent her a farewell note signed, “Your Valentine.”

Another Valentine, a bishop from Terni, is also believed to have been martyred around the same time, and over the centuries, their stories merged into one legend.

However, before Saint Valentine, the Romans already had a mid-February festival called Lupercalia, held on the 15th. This wild pagan event was dedicated to fertility, involving animal sacrifices, feasting, and a peculiar matchmaking ritual where men and women were paired randomly for the festivities, sometimes leading to marriage.

When Christianity spread, Pope Gelasius I officially replaced Lupercalia with Saint Valentine’s feast day in 496 AD, shifting the focus from pagan rites to Christian ideals of love and devotion.

For centuries, Valentine’s Day remained a religious feast, until medieval poets turned it into a romantic holiday. In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about birds choosing their mates on Valentine’s Day, linking it to love and courtship.

His poem sparked a trend among nobles and poets, who began writing Valentine’s letters and verses, a tradition that grew through the Renaissance.

By the 18th century, exchanging handwritten love notes became common in England, and by the 19th century, mass-produced Valentine’s Day cards took over. The commercialization of the holiday exploded in the 20th century, with chocolates, flowers, and gifts becoming essential expressions of love.

Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in various ways across the world. In Japan, women give chocolates to men on February 14th, while men reciprocate a month later on White Day.

South Korea takes it further with Black Day in April, where singles gather to eat black bean noodles. In Italy, couples visit Juliet’s balcony in Verona, leaving love letters, while in South Africa, women pin the names of their crushes on their sleeves, an old Roman tradition.

Meanwhile, in Denmark, men send anonymous love poems, and in the Philippines, mass weddings are held, where hundreds of couples marry in public ceremonies.

Not all countries embrace Valentine’s Day. In Saudi Arabia, the holiday is banned, but a black market for roses and chocolates thrives. In Brazil, love is celebrated on June 12th instead, as February is dedicated to Carnival. France once had a peculiar tradition called “The Drawing for Love,” where singles would call out to find partners, but this was later banned due to chaotic results.

A lesser-known but fascinating aspect of Valentine’s Day history is the relics of Saint Valentine. In Rome, a skull adorned with flowers, believed to belong to Saint Valentine, is displayed at Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Other relics of the saint are scattered across Europe, drawing visitors eager to see the remains of the man behind the holiday of love.

Despite its ancient and sometimes mysterious past, Valentine’s Day today is a global celebration of romance and affection. From handwritten love letters to elaborate gifts, its traditions continue to evolve, proving that the desire to express love has always been a fundamental part of human nature.