St. Valentine's Day - A History

Ah, Valentine's Day. A day to shower your loved one with gifts of flowers, chocolates and teddy bears in order to let them know how much you love them. A day of hugs, kisses and romance. Who could ask for more in this world? A day of love!

The origin of Valentine's Day is a bit on the murky side and nobody knows for sure how it came to be. Here, however, is what (we think) we know.

There are two parts to the story. First, a bit of history about the date, February 14th. It appears that this date, or one close to it, was used as a pagan Roman festival of Lepercalia long before it was named after St. Valentine. This festival, in one form or another, dates back to the 8th century BCE. These roots sound simply barbaric today with the advent of women's rights and sexual equality, since one part of the festival called for a young man to draw a name in a lottery and the prize was a young woman that he would keep as a sexual companion for a year. We can only hope that the women put their name in the draw voluntarily! So how did the Festival of Lepercalia turn into what we know as Valentine's Day? Let's turn our attention to Valentine.

The best guess is that Valentine was a bishop, or perhaps only a priest, in the 3rd century CE. This was a nasty time to be a Christian. The Roman emperors were not fond of Christians and spent a good deal of energy having them persecuted and killed. It was in this climate that we understand that Valentine lived.

There are two stories that are attributed to Valentine's ministry. One is that he, despite the emperor's ban, continued to preach the word of Christ even to the guards when imprisoned. The other seems more suited to the Valentine's Day theme. Historians tell us that Claudius II was trying to add men to his army in order to expand the Roman Empire and the order was that all un-married men had to serve when asked. Claudius II decreed that marriage was to be banned and that all engagements were to be broken off. The legend is that Valentine defied this ban and chose to marry couples anyway.

Whether it was for preaching or marrying lovers against the wishes of the emperor, Valentine ended up in prison. Rumour has it that while he was there, he became very attached to the jailer's daughter. Just before he was executed on February 14, 270, he wrote a note to the daughter and signed it "from your Valentine." A rather familiar greeting, isn't it?

So, just how did the festival of Lupercalia become St. Valentine's Day? Well, by the year 469, Christianity had a pretty strong foothold and was working to replace pagan festivals with others more acceptable to Christianity. Pope Gelasius, it seems, was not fond of the lottery of a sexual companion that was part of the Festival of Lepercalia. So, he replaced the festival with St. Valentines Day. Many were very disappointed when the lottery was replaced by one of a very different sort. A lottery of the Saints was instituted and the men would now draw to get a Saint's name and then emulate the Saint for the year. Popular as getting a woman for the year? Doubtful...

As it is with humans, the old and the new came together over the years. The Saints lottery was dropped, strands of the Festival of Lepercalia endured, and the pairing up of people through gifts of love came to be and is celebrated to this day, in the name of Valentine's Day.

About the Author:

The Rev. Julia Ford is a co-owner of Gift Baskets of Canada with her partner and is Honourary Assistant at St. Dunstan's Anglican Church, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.