History of Valentine's Day

The origins of Valentine's Day are not clearly defined. We do not know if it is the result of a party, an execution or even a poem.

This holiday may have Roman roots which come from a pagan celebration which took place every year under the name of Lupercalia or Lupercalia. In ancient Rome, this festival, which took place on February 15, celebrated fertility. The men took off their clothes, sacrificed a sheep or a dog and covered themselves with the skin of the sacrificed animal. They believed that this increased their fertility and performed this ritual before going to meet the young girls.

Lupercalia was very successful and continued to be celebrated until 150 years after the Christianization of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine.

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I put an end to these celebrations. Some time later, February 14 was established by the Church as a day of commemoration for the martyr Saint Valentine. Long before that, Christians had already tried to ban Lupercalia. According to historian Noel Lenski, we can therefore think that the establishment of Valentine's Day aimed to replace Lupercalia.

Other stories lead us to believe that the origins of Valentine's Day did not begin until 1000 years later. According to Jack B. Oruch, a professor at the University of Kansas, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to link Valentine's Day to romance in The Parliament of the Birds . In this poem, he describes a ceremony uniting birds at the beginning of spring and from there he revives the tradition of lovers: "You know well that on Valentine's Day, by my status and under my governance, you choose all your partners - and you fly away following your ways” (v. 386-9). In this poem, he describes every aspect of the holiday and clearly establishes the tradition of Valentine's Day.

In conclusion, the link between Valentine's Day and fertility is just a coincidence due to reports  with ancestral agricultural practices. It was thanks to the poet Geoffrey Chaucer that the tradition of Valentine's Day came into existence.