Known for his ability to heal physical disabilities, a scholar sent for the bishop to heal his only son, who could not speak or straighten his body. The second priest, the Bishop Valentine of Terni, was also a miracle worker. Once word of the miracle and conversion reached the Emperor, Valentine was executed. Soon, Valentine restored sight to a young blind girl and the whole house converted. The head of the house holding Valentine challenged the priest to show the true power of God. When brought before the emperor, Valentine refused to renounce his faith and as punishment was placed under house arrest. The first Valentine was a priest who was arrested during the Roman persecutions of Christians. Both men were also said to have died on February 14, although years apart. Both Valentines were martyrs, put to death by the Roman Emperor Claudius in the third century. The two Valentines share many similarities, leading some researchers to wonder whether they were the same man. Two Valentines stand out as likely candidates for the namesake saint, but neither dealt with matters of the heart. Valentine?īy some estimations there are over 10,800 saints, of which there are more than 30 Valentines and even a few Valentinas. Later poets, including Shakespeare, followed Chaucer’s lead and helped create the romantic connotations we have today.īy Hamlet - Act 4, Scene 5 Who was St. Oruch suggests that Chaucer might have linked Valentine’s Day to romance more or less by chance-Valentine’s Day is approximately the time when European birds start mating. Oruch, a professor at the University of Kansas, argues that the poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first person to link Valentine’s Day to romance in his poem The Parlement of Foules. How did it become a romantic holiday?Īpart from the name, these feasts share little resemblance to our modern, romantic notions of Valentine’s Day.īy some accounts, the true origin of Valentine’s Day didn’t come for another thousand years. "So there's reason to think that the Christians might instead have said, okay, we'll just call this a Christian festival," he said.
Soon after, the Catholic church declared February 14 to be a day of feasts to celebrate the martyred Saint Valentine.ĭuring the Valentine’s season, this farm in Ecuador processes 160,000 roses each day.Īccording to Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Lupercalia was "clearly a very popular thing, even in an environment where the Christians are trying to close it down." In an interview with NPR Lenski theorizes that the feast was meant to replace Lupercalia. When Pope Gelasius came to power in the late fifth century he put an end to Lupercalia.
Lupercalia was popular and one of the few pagan holidays still celebrated 150 years after Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire. Young boys would then take strips of hide from the sacrificed animals and use it to whip young women, to promote fertility.
Men would strip naked and sacrifice a goat and dog. Occurring for centuries in the middle of February, the holiday celebrates fertility.
The earliest possible origin story of Valentine’s Day is the pagan holiday Lupercalia. Was Valentine’s Day inspired by a party, an execution, or a poem? Historians aren’t sure. Here's what we actually know about Valentine's Day. Not only does this holiday have competing origin stories, but there are at least two different saints who might be its namesake. However, much about how the holiday came to be remains a mystery, details lost to time and transformed as romantics retold history. The handwritten cards, chocolate hearts, and red roses are all staples of the annual tradition, recognized easily at any convenience store. Much about Valentine’s Day is well known. On February 14, more than any other day of the year, romantic couples shower their better half with gifts and tokens of appreciation.