From Pagan to Profitable: A Very Brief History of Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day wasn’t always about cards, flowers, and candlelit dinners. Its roots lie in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration involving ritual sacrifice and feasts—plus, the men would whip the women with goat hides.

Later, Pope Gelasius appropriated this holiday and declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day, honoring St. Valentine, a third-century martyr who defined Emperor Claudius II by secretly marrying couples despite a ban on soldiers’ marriages.

Geoffrey Chaucer linked Valentine’s Day to romance in his poem Parliament of Fowls (1382), associating it with birds choosing mates in early spring. Cupid is also mentioned twice in the poem. This literary spin launched the tradition of love letters and tokens.

In the 19th-century, affection became commercialized driven by mass production, improvements in the postal system, and the Romanticism movement. Now, Valentine’s Day is a nearly $26 billion industry, but its essence—celebrating connection—remains timeless.

Love it or loathe it, Valentine’s Day is a testament to how history, culture, and capitalism intertwine to create rituals we cherish.

Further Reading:

• Wikipedia; Penny Post 

• Wikipedia: Romanticism

• NPR: The Dark Origins of Valentine’ Day