Valentine’s Day is a day when people celebrate their loved ones. Whether it is a significant other, a friend, or a family member, they are celebrated because of love. Love is defined as a feeling of deep affection, which is what Valentine’s Day is about. People will share this love by giving chocolate or gifts such as stuffed bears. Valentine’s Day did not start like this though. It started as a Roman celebration called Lupercalia, which celebrated spring fertility and pairing a woman off with a man. That festival was held until the 5th century.
Valentine’s Day came to be what it was in the 14th century. This holiday could have been named after any one of the saints named Valentine but there are varied perspectives about the origin. The first possibility is that it emerged when a saint was brought to death by Claudius II Gothicus for writing a letter to his jailed daughter and signing it “from your Valentine”.
Others think that it was named after St. Valentine of Terni (a city in Italy) who was a bishop. Some people around the world believe that these two saints are the same person – that St. Valentine of Terni is the one who gave the letter to the daughter of Claudius II.
Nowadays, most people credit this day to St. Valentine who went against orders from an emperor and married couples so the husbands did not have to go off to war. No one actually knows the true origin of Valentine’s day. The only certainty is that love is widely celebrated and cherished on this particular day.
During Valentine’s day, some people send letters or little notes to each other in reference to the letters Valentine sent to Gothicus’ daughter. In the 1800s, Cupid, the Roman God of love, became a symbol of Valentine’s Day. Contemporary traditions include giving candy, stuffed animals, flowers, and even little notes to those we care about. Many around the world have embraced this holiday as a way to share love especially on February 14th of every year reminding us that every act of love counts.