The History of Valentine's Day

By Yasmin Elgamal

Besides Groundhog’s day and Presidents Day, the only holiday that people look forward to in February is Valentine’s day. You don’t get school or work off, but you may get chocolates, teddy bears, or a card. But why on this specific day do we celebrate love, and why do we associate St.Valentine with it? I thought it was the perfect topic to delve into, and decided to explore the origins of the holiday we all know and love.

Let’s start with who St. Valentine was. He was a priest allegedly born around 175 AD and became celebrated by Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. During ancient Rome, Claudius the Cruel, staying true to his title, banned marriage and engagements to recruit more soldiers- they needed unmarried men who wouldn’t get attached to their families. In retaliation, St. Valentine married couples in secret. Unfortunately, he was caught and beheaded on February 14th, which is now the date he is celebrated. Allegedly, while he was captured and jailed, he left a note for the jailer’s daughter that was signed “from your Valentine”. That may explain the cards we were forced to write in 4th grade to our classmates.

It is a sweet, albeit gruesome story, but the tale of Valentine’s day has other origins besides Catholicism. A certain aspect of Valentine’s day originates in Greek mythology; that is, the other patron of the holiday, Cupid. One story states that Cupid’s mother, Venus, ordered him to punish a woman named Psyche. Venus was jealous of Psyche because her beauty surpassed even the goddesses; however, Cupid stuck himself with his arrow instead and fell in love with Psyche. It is said Cupid carries two arrows- one golden and the other lead. The golden arrow causes someone to fall in love, but the lead does the opposite. One such story of Cupid’s shenanigans is Apollo and Daphne. Apollo, after being struck by Cupid, becomes obsessed with Daphne. She, however, is not interested and asked her father, the river god, for help; she then got turned into a laurel tree. Personally, I think Apollo should have been the tree, but that’s just me.

The Chinese legend of the Cowherd and Weaver girl also depicts a Valentine’s day myth. Also known as Zhinü and Nuilang, it is said their romance was forbidden and they were separated and banished to the opposite sides of a heavenly river. However, on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar, they are reunited. In actuality, the star Vega (the weaver girl) and the star Altair (the cowherd) are separated by the milky way(the river) until the seventh day of the seventh month, where they reunite every year. Thus, the Qixi (“meaning “Night of Sevens”) festival is held in honor of the tale.

Similarly to St. Valentine, in Brazil a celebration of St. Anthony, the “Marriage Saint” is held on June 12th and is the equivalent of our Valentine’s day. Many countries have days where gift giving commences as a celebration of love. Chocolates were and still are a popular present, often commercialized for Valentine’s day all over the world.

Despite hundreds of years passing between these stories and different cultural depictions of the holiday, the sentiment remains: wherever we are, we spend one day of the year celebrating what we love most. And if you’re single, don’t worry! The unofficial holiday, Singles Day, is February 15th. Although it has no historical significance, we can honor Claudius the Cruel on this day. It’s what he would have wanted.