History of Valentine's Day A Valentine's Day card depicting Cupid mending a broken heart. The card was posted in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1909 \. The text reads: "To My Valentine" and bears the couplet: "Don't despair as yet broken heart/Cupid in patching it will make a new start." Photo by Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images Every February 14, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones. It is a day of romance, all in the name of St. Valentine. Who is this mysterious saint? How did Valentine's Day, as we now know it, come about? The history of this holiday goes all the way back to ancient Roman ceremonies and the customs of Victorian England. The legend of St. Valentine The history of Valentine’s Day and the man it is named for is mysterious. We know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance. We also know that St. Valentine’s Day features traditions from both Christianity and Ancient Rome. Just who St. Valentine was, however, is not known for sure. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus. According to one legend, Valentine was a priest during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with By History.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.12.17 Word Count 637 This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
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History of Valentine's Day
A Valentine's Day card depicting Cupid mending a broken heart. The card was posted in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1909
\. The text reads: "To My Valentine" and bears the couplet: "Don't despair as yet broken heart/Cupid in patching it will
make a new start." Photo by Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Every February 14, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones. It is a day
of romance, all in the name of St. Valentine. Who is this mysterious saint? How did
Valentine's Day, as we now know it, come about? The history of this holiday goes all the
way back to ancient Roman ceremonies and the customs of Victorian England.
The legend of St. Valentine
The history of Valentine’s Day and the man it is named for is mysterious. We know that
February has long been celebrated as a month of romance. We also know that St.
Valentine’s Day features traditions from both Christianity and Ancient Rome. Just who St.
Valentine was, however, is not known for sure.
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or
Valentinus. According to one legend, Valentine was a priest during the third century in
Rome. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with
By History.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.12.17
Word Count 637
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
wives and families, so he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine saw the injustice of
this rule. So he went against Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret. When
his actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians
escape harsh Roman prisons. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually
sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl. Before his
death, he wrote her a letter signed “From your Valentine." People still use the expression
today.
Origins of Valentine's Day
Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to mark the date
of Valentine’s death. Others claim that the Christian church timed the holiday in order to
compete with the Roman celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated on February 15, Lupercalia
was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
The festival was kicked off by members of the Luperci, a group of Roman priests. The
priests would sacrifice an animal such as a goat. They would then cut the goat’s hide into
strips, dip them into sacrificial blood and take to the streets.
Roman women believed the sacrificial blood would make it easier for them to have babies
in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city
would place their names in a big bowl. The city’s unmarried men would each choose a
name and become paired for the year with their chosen woman. These matches often
ended in marriage.
Lupercalia continued to be celebrated during the initial rise of Christianity. At the end of the
fifth century it became outlawed. At the same time, Pope Gelasius declared February 14
St. Valentine’s Day. Eventually, the day became associated with love.
Typical Valentine's Day greetings
In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the
United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day became popular
around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers to
exchange small gifts or handwritten notes.
By 1900, improvements were made in printing technology. Printed cards began to replace
written letters. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their feelings.
Cheaper postage rates also made sending Valentine’s Day greetings more popular.
Americans probably began exchanging handmade valentines in the early 1700s. In the
1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America.
Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate cards with real lace,
ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.”
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day
cards are sent each year. Valentine’s Day is the second-largest card-sending holiday of the
year, behind only Christmas.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
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