Mysterious History Of Valentine's Day Revealed

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Walk into any store in the beginning of February and you will see displays of decadent chocolates, fresh roses and heartfelt cards. You will see images of Cupid, St. Valentine and doves on the front of many Valentine’s Day gifts. But what does all of it mean? Of course, many people would say these images represent love and commitment.

While these objects are known to signify love, they are tied to the very mysterious history of Valentine’s Day.

While many scholars debate just how many St. Valentine’s existed, most can agree that one existed in the third century and was eventually martyred. According to old sources, they concluded that there were two St. Valentine’s: a priest in Rome and a Bishop from Terni, a town near Rome.

"While many of us think a St. Valentine existed, we aren’t sure if there were one, two or three St. Valentine’s," Lawrence Cunngham, theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, said. "We don’t know much about him."

As with all saints in the Catholic Church in the fourth century, each had a certain feast day. St. Valentine’s feast day just happened to fall on Feb. 14—one of many Saints Days.

Many different versions exist as to what St. Valentine did in his life. However, there is one popular theory involving the Roman Emperor Claudius. This emperor felt that married men wouldn’t make good soldiers because of being emotionally attached to their families. In order to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.

St. Valentine, realizing the injustice of this decree, decided to marriage lovers secretly—eventually leading him to jail. While in jail, he met and fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper to write a letter to the jailer’s daughter.

"He signed the letter "From Your Valentine," a phrase that is common today," William E. Durr Library Branch Manager Becky Bowen said.

Just as scholars are unsure about St. Valentine’s life, they are also not certain about Valentine’s Day origin. Below are three different myths surrounding this day of 'love':

According to legend, the holiday has its roots in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration held annually on Feb. 15. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day, declaring Feb. 14, to be St. Valentine’s feast day.

"For this celebration, it was thought that roman boys chose their partners from drawing names from a box," Bowen said. "They would exchange gifts on that day, similar to what we do today."

The colors that we associate with Valentine’s Day, red and white, are also thought to have come from the festival, Bowen said. The heart represented red, for love, and white for purity.

In the Middle Ages, it became common to view Feb. 14 as the first hope that spring is soon arriving. As a result, many people also thought that birds chose their mates this day, Cunningham said. Geoffrey Chaucer, an English author and poet, even linked the mating season of birds with St. Valentine’s Day:

‘For this was on St. Valentine's Day, 
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.’

In 15th century England, a family exchanged many letters about general topics—commerce, family problems, illnesses, and a few mentions of the husband and wife sending valentines.

"These letters are basically accidental illusions to the writing of valentines," Cunningham said. "While there were love notes, there were very few."

These sending of letters are thought to be one of the reasons that Valentine’s Day is associated with male-female relationships. This custom lingered on through the Victorian Period and is a possible reason why we celebrate this day as a time to celebrate love.