Valentine’s Day, holiday (February 14) when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. It may have had beginnings in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which celebrated the coming of spring and included fertility rites and other activities, but the origin of the holiday is vague at best. N owadays, the premise of Valentine’s Day is simple to understand: Feb. 14 is a time to show appreciation for friends, families, significant others and anyone else you might love. Pinpointing In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius marked February 14 as a day to honor their martyrdom, and a celebration of St. Valentine’s Day was born. In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed St. Valentine from the General Roman Calendar because of the lack of reliable information about him. What is the real meaning of Valentine's Day? Learn about the holiday's origins, history, traditions and why we celebrate in the first place. Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated every February 14; this year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts The origin of Valentine’s Day is a rich tapestry of history, mythology, and cultural evolution. From the legend of Saint Valentine and the ancient festival of Lupercalia to the influence of Geoffrey Chaucer and the rise of commercialized celebrations, February 14th has become a day dedicated to love and affection. You won't find the real story of Valentine's Day in your favorite romantic movies—not only because it's a bit darker than most Hollywood fare, but also because it's a bit of a mystery! Historians can't quite pinpoint the exact origin of the holiday, but they can trace how Valentine's Day traditions have evolved over time. Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, [1] is celebrated annually on February 14. [2] It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine , and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in Over the centuries, Valentine's Day has been a religious feast day and a secular day of romance. In its earliest incarnation, it was even a ritual celebrating fertility and springtime. Given how much it's changed over time, we say the meaning of Valentine's Day can be whatever you want. Where does the name Valentine come from?. The holiday is aptly named after Saint Valentine, but who exactly was he? Valentine is likely based on a combination of two Valentines who were executed on February 14 in different years by Roman Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century A.C.E., according to NPR. Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled. Celebrating Valentine’s Day is for the birds. Or maybe, it would be better to say that celebrating Valentine’s Day is from the birds.. At least one explanation of why the Feast of St. Valentine is considered a day for love and romance has to do with what the Catholic Encyclopedia called “a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on Feb From Roman Roots to Romance: How Valentine’s Day Became a Holiday. Shortly after Chaucer mentioned love on Valentine’s Day, real-life lovers began to send each other love poems on February 14th. It’s possible that these predate Chaucer, but we simply don’t know. See, the way Valentine's Day is celebrated has transformed over time. The modern iteration of the holiday, with all its rosy hearts and kisses, has quite a bubbly feel compared to its origin story Valentine's Day has a long and complex history that involves several Christian saints, an ancient Pagan festival, and a dedicated card-maker. The Real History of Valentine's Day, Explained. It St. Valentine, a name that is synonymous with love and romance across the globe, lived at a time when the Roman Empire was at its zenith. He is often best remembered for the act of marrying couples in secret defiance of the Roman Emperor's bans. However, the truth about St. Valentine is far more complex, woven from a mixture of historical fragments, religious tradition, and folklore. This has But there’s one final twist in the myth of Saint Valentine. When Chaucer wrote of the day when every bird chooses a mate, Kelly argues that he was thinking not of February 14, but of May 3, a If Valentine's Day was in fact connected to Lupercalia, we would need to explain almost one thousand years of silence. The actual story of St. Valentine(s) is a bit more difficult. There are at least two Valentine's associated with February 14th, though more by that name are reported. Valentine’s Day originated as a feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. It took a gruesome path to becoming a romantic holiday. The ‘real’ St Valentine's Day, the annual celebration of love, is a day steeped in both history and tradition. Yet, like the best love stories, its origins are a little mysterious, a bit quirky and undeniably
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