Valentine's Day

Hello, I am Valentine’s Day. You might know me as a day filled with red hearts, sweet treats, and kind words. People observe me all around the world every year on the same date: February 14th. On this day, many people take a special moment to share their feelings of love and friendship with others. My purpose is to be a time for connection, a day to let the important people in your life know just how much you care about them, whether they are family, friends, or someone special.

My history reaches back a very long time, and my exact origins are a bit of a mystery. Some historians believe my timing in the middle of February may have a connection to an ancient Roman festival known as Lupercalia. This was a seasonal festival that the Romans celebrated long before I existed in my current form. While Lupercalia had its own traditions, it is interesting that it took place at the same time of year that people now celebrate me. However, the holiday you recognize today, with its focus on love and affection, didn't begin to take shape until many, many centuries later. My specific identity as a day of love and friendship is a much more recent story.

My name—Valentine's Day—comes from a real person. In fact, I am named after at least one Christian saint named Valentine who lived during the time of the Roman Empire. There are several different stories about saints with this name, which can make my history a little confusing. What is known for certain is that in the year 496 CE, a leader of the Christian church named Pope Gelasius I declared that February 14th would be a feast day. A feast day is a special day set aside to honor a religious figure. This official day was established to remember and honor a Saint Valentine, and that is how my date was officially placed on the calendar.

For hundreds of years after Pope Gelasius I established my date, I was mostly a quiet religious observance. My popular connection with romance and love didn't start until much later, during a period in European history called the Middle Ages. Around the 1300s, people’s ideas about me began to change in a big way. This was thanks in part to a very famous English writer and poet named Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote beautiful poems that created a link between my special day and the time of year when many birds were thought to choose their mates for the upcoming spring season. This lovely idea captured people's imaginations, and soon they started to see me as the perfect day for love and romance.

Once people began thinking of me as a day for love, they needed a way to express those feelings. This led to the tradition of sending special messages, which became known as 'valentines.' The oldest valentine that we know of still exists today. It was a poem written in the year 1415. The author was a French nobleman named Charles, Duke of Orléans. While he was being held prisoner in England, he wrote the poem for his wife back in France. As time went on, this custom of writing love notes became more and more popular. By the 1700s, it was very common for people in England to exchange handmade cards decorated with hearts and poems, as well as small gifts, to show their affection.

Today, my traditions have traveled far beyond England and are celebrated in many different countries around the world. The ways people observe me have grown and changed over time. Many people continue to give beautifully designed cards, often with heartfelt messages written inside. Other popular gifts include boxes of heart-shaped chocolates and bouquets of red roses, which have become symbols of love. But my celebration is no longer just for romantic couples. I have become a day for celebrating all kinds of love and appreciation. Children exchange cards with their classmates at school. Friends give each other small gifts to show they care. And many people use my day as a special opportunity to express gratitude and affection for their teachers and family members, too. I am a day for everyone to share a little kindness.