How Did We Get Valentine’s Day?

Detail of a Valentine's Day card showing two birds, circa 1930. Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Valentine’s Day—it all started with one, or maybe two, people. And perhaps a little bit of promo.

A lot of saints’ stories are beautiful and inspiring. I became familiar with them, despite not having been raised a Catholic, while a college student studying religion and religious history.

But somehow, the story of St. Valentine is a little more complex than that.

First off, there’s a question of whether the saint to which we owe this holiday was one person, two, or even more. We can say for sure, though, that the holiday dates at least from the 14th century. And the saint(s) himself dates back to the third century.

There are variations about the original story, but Saint Valentine's feast day remains a celebration of love. Public domain

The Romantic Priest

Let’s start with the most commonly accepted, or popularized, version of the story, just to get our basics down, and go from there.

During the third century in Rome, Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men (heterosexual marriage, of course), determining that unmarried men would make better soldiers. But a kindhearted priest named Valentine continued to secretly perform this sacrament for young people.

When Claudius II found out, he had St. Valentine arrested and sentenced to death. This St. Valentine would have died around the year 270, and he is sometimes referred to as St. Valentine of Rome.

The Card-Sending Bishop

The other St. Valentine is sometimes called St. Valentine of Terni, also in Italy. He was, as legend has it (though there are many versions), a bishop who was martyred for ministering to persecuted Christians.

Another popular piece of the story is that, when St. Valentine was imprisoned, he befriended his jailer’s daughter and healed her from blindness. Before his execution, he wrote her a letter and signed it “from your Valentine.” This may have inspired the tradition of exchanging Valentine’s Day cards.

The Day of the Saint

Although the details of these legends are not historically confirmed, they have, of course, contributed to the modern-day celebration of Valentine’s Day. It’s possible that these stories refer to a single person, and it’s also possible that there were multiple people whose stories of conviction and faith came together to create the holiday.

There are also those who assert that the cycles of nature are part of why February 14 has become the holiday of lovers and loved ones. According to “History of St. Valentine“ by Father William Saunders:

“During the Medieval Age, a common belief in England and France was that birds began to pair on Feb.14, ‘half-way through the second month of the year.’ Chaucer wrote in his ‘Parliament of Foules’ (in Old English): ‘For this was on Seynt Valentyne’s day, When every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.’ For this reason, the day was dedicated to ‘lovers’ and prompted the sending of letters, gifts, or other signs of affection.”

In 496, Pope Gelasius I officially recognized St. Valentine and set February 14 as the feast day to honor him. But in 1969, Valentine was removed from the General Roman Calendar because of the unreliability of the information surrounding his story.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day

Throughout history, St. Valentine has, despite the uncertainty around the story, been celebrated in various ways. These include the exchange of Valentine’s Day cards, gifts, and flowers, and visits to historical sites relating to the saint(s). His story has also inspired works of art, literature, and music.

St. Valentine’s legacy has continued to be remembered for more than 1,700 years.

And although not all of us are necessarily inclined toward saints’ stories, knowing a bit of history is worthwhile. I find these stories helpful not only because they can help us think about faith, but also because they remind us of the grand arc of history and help us realize that significant historical events could very well be unfolding around us at any time. These events, too, could be remembered for centuries to come.