The History of Valentine’s Day

Despite occasional grumblings that it was invented by the greeting card industry, Valentine's Day actually has a long, rich history. Its earliest origins derive from a pagan festival called Lupercalia, in which Romans called upon the god Lupercus to keep the wolves away. As part of the festivities, Roman girls wrote their names on a slip of paper and placed them in a jar for the boys to draw from. The matches were supposed to be sweethearts until the next Lupercalia. 

Lupercalia evolved into Valentine's Day after Emperor Claudius II, believing married men would prefer staying with their families to fighting his wars, decreed that Roman soldiers were forbidden to wed. According to legend, a priest named Valentine conducted secret marriage ceremonies in defiance of the edict. On February 14, the eve of Lupercalia, he was beheaded for his crime. 

After Valentine was sanctified, Christian priests adapted the pagan holiday, moving it back a day to honor him.

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