&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Valentine's Day 2026: Who Was Saint Valentine? The Real Story Behind Valentine’s Day")
Every year on February 14, couples all around the world celebrate it as the day of love. Although love doesn't need a single day to be celebrated, it is marked as a special day on which couples express their affection for each other and promise a lifetime of company. But what is the origin and history behind this day? Let's delve in to know more.
What is the origin of Valentine's Day?
Valentine's Day has been celebrated since the Roman Empire. There are many stories behind Valentine's Day celebrations. The day is observed in honour of Saint Valentine of Terni, who was assassinated by Roman Emperor Claudius II. He was a priest who is supposedly known for secretly performing Christian marriages for Roman troops as well as preaching Christianity before it was legal.
Therefore, he was placed under house arrest, as he refused to renounce his faith.
While serving the sentence, Saint Valentine of Terni fell in love with the jailer's daughter; he soon restored her sight. The house converted, believing in the power of God. When the news reached the emperor, Valentine was executed on February 14. On the day of execution, he sent the jailer's daughter a farewell note: 'From your Valentine'. Later, the church made this festival a Christian celebration and chose to use it to remember St Valentine's Day.
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Another story comes from the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. He was the first person to link Valentine’s Day to romance in his poem-- 'The Parlement of Foules', a poem written in the late 14th century. He associated the day with romantic love, imagining that this is the time when European birds choose their mates.
Why is February 14 called Saint Valentine's Day?
February 14 is Saint Valentine's Day in the Lutheran calendar of saints. Valentine is remembered in the Church of England with a commemoration on February 14. Saint Valentine was also in the General Roman Calendar for celebration as a simple feast until 1955, when Pope Pius XII reduced all such feasts to just a commemoration within another celebration.
The 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar removed this mention, leaving it for inclusion only in local calendars such as that of Balzan, Malta. His commemoration was still in the 1962 Roman Missal and is thus observed also by those who, in the circumstances indicated in Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, use that edition.
During the Middle Ages, it was believed that birds paired in mid-February. This was then associated with the romance of Valentine. Although these legends differ, Valentine's Day is widely recognised as a day for romance and devotion.
Significance of Valentine's Day with love
The day came to be associated with romance and love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the 'love birds' of early spring. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as 'valentines').
Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
Worldwide celebration of Valentine's Day on February 14
Valentine's Day customs—sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"), offering confectionery and presenting flowers—developed in early modern England and spread throughout the English-speaking world in the 19th century. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, these customs spread to other countries, like those of Halloween and aspects of Christmas (such as Santa Claus).
Valentine's Day is celebrated in many East Asian countries, with Singaporeans, Chinese, and South Koreans spending the most money on Valentine's gifts
But in some other countries, like Indonesia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the day is banned due to the day's conflicting views with the Islamic culture. Since 2009, certain practices pertaining to Valentine's Day (such as giving flowers, cards, or other gifts suggestive of Valentine's Day) have been banned in Iran.
