Valentine’s Week has officially begun, opening with Rose Day on February 6 and building up to its grand finale on February 14 – Valentine’s Day. What was once a celebration centred on romantic partners has evolved into a global expression of love, with couples and spouses exchanging thoughtful gifts and spending quality time together, while friends and family also join in to share warmth and affection.
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From handwritten notes and fresh flowers to chocolates and candlelit dinners, the day is marked worldwide as a celebration of emotional intimacy and meaningful connection. Yet, beneath its soft pink hues and romantic gestures lies a far more layered, complex and even contradictory history – one that stretches back centuries and blends myth, religion and ancient ritual.
History and significance of Valentine’s Day
Every year, Valentine’s Day is celebrated almost instinctively, woven into our calendars as a familiar ritual – but have you ever paused to wonder how this day of love actually came into existence? There are many legends tracing back to the origins of this day, but the most prominent one points towards the ancient Roman pastoral festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated to mark the onset of spring. The festival was celebrated annually between February 13 to 15, with a focus on cleansing the city, blessing women with fertility and honouring the wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus.
During this festival, men and women were paired through a lottery system – a ritual that symbolised renewal and companionship rather than romance as we understand it today. In an effort to Christianise pagan traditions, Pope Gelasius I is believed to have abolished Lupercalia in the late fifth century and replaced it with the Feast of Saint Valentine, officially marking February 14 in the Christian calendar.
Another enduring legend centres on Saint Valentine, a priest who was reportedly executed on February 14 for defying the orders of Claudius II. According to folklore, Claudius had banned marriages for young men, believing single soldiers made better warriors. Valentine secretly performed weddings, in an attempt to spare men from conscription – acts that ultimately led to his martyrdom – transforming him into a lasting symbol of love, sacrifice and defiance.
Why is Valentine’s Day celebrated on February 14?
Interestingly, Valentine’s Day was not immediately associated with romance. Early religious texts from the eighth century simply recorded February 14 as a feast day. It was only in the 14th and 15th centuries, during the rise of courtly love in medieval Europe, that the date became linked to romance. Writers and poets began associating mid-February with the mating season of birds – the so-called “lovebirds” – reinforcing the idea of love blossoming at the onset of spring.
Today, Valentine’s Day stands as a blend of ancient rituals, religious history and literary imagination – a day that has evolved from pagan celebrations and martyrdom into a global celebration of love in all its forms.
