Ah, Valentine’s Day. ‘Tis the season when drug store shelves transform into bright displays of red and pink. For many who celebrate it in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s not yet spring—there’s still snow to trudge through—but there is a brief buzz in the air and, for the lucky ones, a heart-shaped box of chocolates waiting for them at the end of a cold day.
There are few holidays that have witnessed evolutions as complex as Valentine’s Day. What we know as a greeting card holiday has quite the storied past: first as a Roman holiday with cruel practices, and then as a Catholic feast day with purer intentions. And finally, today’s amalgam of traditions new and old weaves a new kind of love-infused tapestry. It’s a day to celebrate love of all kinds, and it has even inspired unofficial holidays celebrated by those less keen on coupling up (like South Korea’s Black Day held on April 14 every year).
Whether you’re looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day around the world or with your loved ones at home, you’re bound to find its history fascinating. Below, we’ll take a look at its origins and many traditions.
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How did Valentine’s Day emerge?
Valentine’s Day began in the fifth century as the Christian feast day of a holy man named Valentine. St. Valentine, the patron saint of love and engaged couples, has some fuzzy origins, but we do know that two men of this name were executed by the Roman empire (before the empire converted to Christianity in the early fourth century) on February 14. There’s even a third martyr who was named Valentine from that time.
What is certain is that nowadays the Catholic church celebrates a single saint, St. Valentine of Rome, on February 14, and the Eastern Orthodox church celebrates his feast on July 6. St. Valentine is associated with the medieval courtly love tradition, which flourished during the 12th to 14th centuries and included chivalrous knights who fought for their lady. This tradition, full of love poetry and song was the beginning of what we now know as romantic love. Some of those poems and songs were written by women too!
When is Valentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 in most places, but other countries have multiple days to celebrate love throughout the year. Some countries have their own special date that may celebrate love but with a motive other than St. Valentine. Here are a handful of outliers:
- Brazil: Valentine’s Day, or Dia dos Namorados, is celebrated on June 12 every year. This is in part because February’s Carnaval celebration is big enough that it eclipses Valentine’s Day. June 12 also falls right before the feast day of Saint Anthony, who is often looked to as a symbol of matchmaking.
- China: China’s ties to Catholicism are slim, so their celebration of love isn’t tied to Saint Valentine. Instead, the Qixi Festival in August honors the annual meeting of Zhinü and Niulang, two characters of a classic Chinese folk tale.
- Japan: Japan celebrates Valentine’s Day on February 14, and it’s a common tradition that women give gifts. On White Day, celebrated on March 14, men give gifts.
- South Korea: South Korea celebrates Valentine’s Day on February 14, but they also celebrate Black Day on April 14. This is an unofficial holiday for singles who come together to eat black-colored food of which jajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles) are the focal point.
The dark history of Valentine’s Day
The early Christian church often aligned its holy days with the dates of pagan celebrations in an effort to convert non-believers. That means the “saintly” aspect of Valentine’s Day was not a part of the original celebration.
Before Christianity took over Rome, the Roman celebration of Valentine’s Day was called Lupercalia and was held on February 13-15 every year. This festival, which to our modern way of thinking would seem cruel, started off with animal sacrifices followed by the whipping of young women, who were thought to be made fertile by these acts. Later, a kind of lottery was held in which men and women were paired up for the three days of the festival, though that pairing sometimes extended beyond.
Even after the Catholic church instituted the feast of St. Valentine in 496, the day still served as a boozy celebration of fertility. It took centuries for the holiday to transform into something tamer and more romantic, a step that both Chaucer and Shakespeare influenced. In the late medieval period, Chaucer connected the date to the time of bird making, while Shakespare’s Hamlet, written later in the Renaissance period, features Ophelia calling herself Hamlet’s valentine.
The enduring symbols of Valentine’s Day
In the 14th century, sweethearts began writing love letters for February 14, and soon, Valentine’s Day images were printed with artisanal printing methods. As symbols of love, hearts and winged angels with arrows often appeared on these early cards.
These winged angels originate with Cupid, the ancient Roman god of love and desire, who you might recognize by his Greek counterpart Eros, the Greek god of love and lust. The ancients later conceived of Eros’s attendants as numerous chubby figures with wings known as putti. Those cute figures are still featured on cards today, but they betray the real nature of Cupid.
Cupid’s bow and arrow aren’t just cute—they’re quite violent. Ancient mythology tells of Apollo having slain the dragon of Delphi. Cupid responded to this act by shooting an arrow into Apollo’s heart, making Apollo fall in love with Daphne, committed to remaining a virgin. So Cupid shot her too. As Apollo began to pursue Daphne, her father turned her into a laurel tree, later used as a symbol of victory.
Violence aside, these ancient mythological stories were revisited during the Renaissance, and printed images known as emblems often depicted Cupid or putti in pastoral settings. Short phrases associated with love often accompanied them, further establishing the connection between love and winged males with arrows.
After Europeans colonized and settled in the area we now call the United States, they brought these traditions with them. By 1800, Valentine’s Day cards were commercially produced in the US, thanks in part to Esther Howland. They continued to be adorned with those same flowers, birds, hearts, and arrows, along with lace and other frills.
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Contemporary Valentine’s Day gifts and traditions
Giving is central to Valentine’s Day. While traditions have changed over time, it’s standard that the traditional ornate cards are now accompanied by gifts. Here we list some of the traditions, especially gifts that are unique to certain regions around the world.
- Wales: Welsh lovers celebrate a day of love on the feast of St. Dwynwen’s with an age-old tradition of gift giving: elaborately carved wooden spoons.
- Italy: Couples often give each other Baci Perugina (Perugina kisses). These are sophisticated chocolate candies whose foil wrapper has a message of love inside.
- Denmark: Instead of roses, beautiful white flowers called snowdrops are given by friends and lovers alike.
- Germany: Though celebrating Valentine’s Day is relatively new in this country, they have the lovely tradition of baking heart-shaped gingerbread cookies called lebkuchenhertz, which they adorn with icing and messages of love, and hang from colorful ribbons.
- Korea: In a bit of pushback against the pressure to be coupled, single folks buy or make themselves a nice dish of comforting noodles on Black Day, April 14, when attire and pasta alike are black. The Jjajangmyeon noodles take on a black color from the bean sauce that flavors them, and single folks wear black clothes to match.
- Ghana: February 14 is not just Valentine’s Day in Ghana; it’s also National Chocolate Day. As one of the largest producers of chocolate in the world, Ghana creates everything from chocolate hearts to cocoa foot creams. They consider cocoa, from which chocolate is derived, to be a symbol of love and self-care.
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Valentine’s Day facts from around the world
While many places celebrate Valentine’s Day in similar ways, each country has its own unique way of honoring this day. Here are a few of the most interesting traditions, but check out our longer post about this too.
- Poland: Couples in Poland like to visit Chelmno where there are some relics (yes, dried body parts) of St. Valentine. Couples go to Chelmno, known as the “city of lovers,” to ask the saint to bless their relationship.
- Catalonia, Spain: Catalonians wait to celebrate their love and friendship—including their love of literature—until the Festival of St. Jordi on April 23. It’s very popular to give either roses or books on this day, especially in Barcelona.
- Sweden: The Swedes like to make a love cake for Valentine’s Day. Who wouldn’t be won over by the winning combo of chocolate cake and coconut, coffee frosting?
- Brazil: Brazilians skip Valentine’s Day in February because they’re occupied with the biggest carnival of the world. They celebrate Dia dos Namorados (Lovers’ Day) on June 12, the eve of St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of marriage.
- Egypt: This country celebrates love twice a year: once on February 14, which is mostly for couples, and once on November 4, which is more for friends, neighbors and the general community. The second date celebrates love in a much broader sense.
- Iran: Valentine’s Day and its paraphernalia were banned in 2010, but that doesn’t mean Iranians don’t celebrate this holiday. In an act of rebellion, they still buy candies, flowers and stuffed animals for this day.
- India: Valentine’s Day has only begun to be celebrated in recent years, but it’s quite controversial. Some conservative groups have protested the Western holiday, and the government indirectly responded by making February 14 Hug a Cow Day—and then reversed it—which mostly provoked a lot of laughs on social media.
- South Korea: Koreans don’t just celebrate February 14. They celebrate love on each fourteenth day of the month, but March 14 is especially important: it’s a day when people, usually men, must reciprocate the gift they received from a woman the month before. This day is called White Day and is also celebrated in Japan!
- The Philippines: Some couples get married on February 14 in a group wedding sponsored by the government. The government supplies all the trappings of a traditional wedding in an effort to get couples to tie the knot.
- Vietnam: People in Hanoi adorn their vehicles with flowers and have a parade. The delightful flower-covered buses, vans and cars look like miniature gardens on wheels as they move through the streets.
>> Check out even more surprising Valentine’s Day traditions from around the world!
Explore the world with Rosetta Stone
Who knew a day dedicated to love could have such a long and complicated history? Like any holiday, our contemporary celebration and understanding of Valentine’s Day is that it’s what you make of it. Celebrate with your partner or plan an elaborate dinner with all your friends. Love is meaningful in every form, and Valentine’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to make the most of it. Honor the day with one of many global traditions in the list above to make it a whole new experience!
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Written by Rowena Galavitz
Rowena Galavitz is a Spanish translator, bilingual copy editor, and language and literature instructor with three master’s degrees who loves Spanish and all things Mexico.
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