Love is in the Air

St. Valentine surrounded by the symbolic birds.
For as long as I can remember Valentine's Day has been a day for everyone to show their love to one another by exchanging gifts, candies, cards and whatever else people think of. It's a day to have an excuse to be extra sweet to your significant other. Aside from that, it's just another regular day; but what made February 14, so special? Why is romance so heavily attached to this day?

 There are multiple theories abut the origin of Valentine's Day. Some surprisingly have very little to do with romance, and have more to do with death than anything. Some people believe that Valentine's Day comes from the decapitations of two different men by the name of St. Valentine, both martyrs. The first evidence found was that Emperor Claudius II executed one of the St. Valentines because he was "secretly officiating weddings for Roman soldiers against the emperor's wishes, making him, in some eyes, a proponent of love" (Lowin and Murtaugh). The other St. Valentine was helping Christians escape from Roman prisons, and that St. Valentine got involved with a young girl, signing one of his letters, "from your Valentine". We celebrate on the 14th because that was the day they both got executed, but on different years. 
The traditional Lupercalia.


 Others believe in more of gory history. Lupercalia is an ancient Roman fertility festival, where Roman priests would sacrifice a goat and a dog to the founders of Rome, and use that blood on the women because they believed that this would make them more fertile. Later on they would gather the names of all women in the city and the "bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman" (History of Valentine's Day). If these pairings were successful they would end up in marriage. 


 Jack B. Oruch believed that "Chaucer invented Valentine's Day as we know it today" because Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem celebrating Valentine's Day by writing "For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate” (Lowin and Murtaugh). This supported the fact that Valentine's Day was a day for love and during this time, France and England said that "February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance"(History of Valentine's Day).

Not all holidays have a valid history, and unlike Christmas or Halloween, Valentine's Day has multiple histories that is left for you to decide which one is the most believable. Personally I would say the most compelling argument is the one about the birds mating, only because before that Valentine's Day was not romanticized. It was not until Chaucer and Shakespeare incorporated it in their work, that it gained it's popularity and recognition as a day for love (Seipel).

 Sources:
History.com Editors. “History of Valentine's Day.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Dec. 2009, www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2.
Murtaugh, Taysha. “The History of Valentine's Day Actually Isn't That Romantic.” Country Living, Country Living, 5 Feb. 2020, www.countryliving.com/life/a46353/history-of-valentines-day/.
Seipel, Arnie. “The Dark Origins Of Valentine's Day.” NPR, NPR, 13 Feb. 2011, www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day.

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