On February 14, the whole world celebrates love and calls it Valentine’s Day. It blends ancient rituals and romantic traditions into a captivating mix of history and heartfelt gestures. But did you know? Its story spans from Roman festivals and martyred saints to modern chocolate hearts. 

Valentine’s Day traces back to the Roman Lupercalia festival in mid-February. It was a wild springtime event with fertility rites, animal sacrifices, and lottery-drawn pairings to promote love and agriculture. This pagan celebration honored Faunus, the god of agriculture, and may have influenced later Christian adaptations by Pope Gelasius I around 498 AD, who replaced it with St. Valentine’s feast day. In the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer romanticized the tradition by linking mid-February bird mating to human lovers in his poem “Parliament of Fowls.” This literary touch has birthed the romantic holiday we know today. 

St. Valentine was a 3rd-century priest who was executed by the Emperor Claudius II for defying a marriage ban on soldiers and secretly marrying couples, asthe emperor believed that single men fought better.  Legends say he healed a jailer’s blind daughter and signed a letter to her “from your Valentine” before his death on February 14, around 269 AD. Another tale portrays him restoring love between quarreling lovers, strengthening his role as a patron of affection, though historical details remain vague. 

One of the Valentine’s Day objects is roses, specifically red roses, and Cupid. The red rose haslong been associated with Venus (known as Aphrodite in Greek mythology) as passion’s emblem since ancient myth. On the other hand, Cupid is the Roman spin on Greek Eros, who was depicted and softened from a muscular and bow-wielding primal force into a plump and mischievous cherub by the 1800s through Renaissance art and greeting cards, embodying innocent desire over raw lust.

By the 1400s, handwritten “valentines” marked a shift from poetry to personal love letters, with the 1415 notes from the imprisoned Duke of Orléans to his wife Bonne as one of the famous examples. The 19th-century Valentine’s Day was brought with mass-produced lace, ribbons, and embossed hearts, turning the tradition into a commercial joy. By 1868, Richard Cadbury launched heart-shaped boxes, silk ribbons, and seashell designs for sweets, making chocolate an iconic love token. Today, over 1 billion Valentine’s cards are exchanged yearly (second to Christmas), alongside 250 million roses and 35 million chocolate boxes in the U.S. alone.

From ancient fertility rites to Cardbury’s silky hearts, Valentine’s Day has woven a tapestry of love that transcends time and borders. Whether whispering sweet nothings via handwritten notes or showering a partner with roses and chocolates, the holiday invites us to celebrate connection in all its forms, whether it is romantic, platonic, or self-love. Show your appreciation, cherish your loved ones, and celebrate the feeling of love itself. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Content Writer: Paulina Angelica Putri

Editor: Arinda Risma Wardani