February is here, and for many people, this month brings us Valentine’s Day. We don’t get the day off, but it’s always marked in the calendar and many people mark it as a special day to celebrate love and romance. Valentine’s Day is commemorated by the exchange of cards, gifts (ranging from simple to lavish), red roses, chocolates, hearts, Cupid, and candlelit dinners with special high-priced menus. The pomp and circumstance of Valentine’s Day leads many people to anticipate it with joy and also many to dread it. Trust me, it’s not just single people who don’t look forward to this special day—I’ve heard a number of people in relationships also start moaning about the burdens of this holiday due to the pressure and possible expense so soon after the Christmas holiday. I’ve heard one married person cynically refer to Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark Holiday,” i.e. a day that allows card companies to increase their product sales. So, why is February 14 the designated day of love?

The origin of Valentine’s Day can be traced back to Roman pagan traditions in the third century. Every February, the Romans celebrated a feast called Lupercalia to honor the god Lupercus, who protects shepherds and their flocks from predatory wolves. The feast was also an occasion when the names of young women were drawn from a box in order to match them with their male partners for the year. When Rome was Christianized, the priests replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day, and the names of saints took the place of the young ladies, as this lottery system of matchmaking was deemed un-Christian. The young man would have to try to live his life in the manner of the saint whose name he drew for that year.

Who exactly was St. Valentine? The history is a little dubious as there seems to be more than one man named Valentine who was honored with feasts on February 14. During his reign, Emperor Claudius believed that unattached men were better soldiers and forbade any more marriages to take place during his war campaign. A priest named Valentine married couples in secret and was punished with a life sentence in prison.

There is a version that says that Valentine was imprisoned for helping Christians (Claudius hated Christianity) and then was put to death on February 14 in 269 AD. Another story claims that Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and he sent her a letter signed “From your Valentine”—the first Valentine’s Day greeting card! That expression is still used to this day. Obviously all the stories describe Valentine as a very sympathetic and heroic character. Over time, all of the versions were unified and Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day.

How did we return to Valentine’s Day and February 14 as the day of love? In the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that the mating season for birds began in mid-February and thus St. Valentine’s Day became a day for romance. The Christian tradition of pulling saints’ names out of a box was unpopular and by the fourteenth century, young men were drawing the names of young women again. Instead of having a mate for the year per the pagan tradition, the young man would wear the woman’s name on his sleeve and protect and attend to her for the year. This made the woman his “valentine” and they exchanged tokens to symbolize their bond throughout the year.

By the middle of the eighteenth century in England, it became common practice for family, friends, and lovers to exchange notes and small gifts on St. Valentine’s Day. Printed cards replaced written letters due to advances in printing technology at the end of the century, and cheaper postage contributed to the increased popularity of sending out Valentine’s Day greetings. This tradition spread to America—the first commercial Valentines were made by Esther Howland in the 1840s. One can only speculate on how this holiday became so commercial in the US—the rise of capitalism, perhaps? Regardless, celebrate Valentine’s Day if you wish. The American economy salutes you!