With how popular Valentine's Day has become today, it is a little surprising that the legends of its origins are a little murky. Since the Catholic Church recognises at least three distinct saints named Valentine (or the alternate, Valentinus), the legends become even more tangled and confusing.
1.
Valentine, the Priest
The first legend dates back to the third century when a priest named Valentine served in Rome. It was during this time that Emperor Claudius II seemed to decide that single men made better soldiers than married men and thus, outlawed marriage for young men. It was Valentine who went against this edict and continued to perform marriages for young lovers. He was put to death once his actions were discovered.
2.
Valentine, the Bishop
A similar legend to the above suggests that it was actually Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was beheaded outside Rome on the orders of Emperor Claudius II.
3.
Valentine, the Imprisoned Lover
An entirely different legend claims that Valentine was actually an imprisoned man who fell in love with a young woman (suspected to be his jailor's daughter). It is alleged that he wrote letters to this young woman, signed 'From your Valentine'.
No matter the legend, Valentine appears as a heroic figure rebelling against the norm in all of them. Whether it is helping young lovers get married, helping prisoners escape, falling in forbidden love, Valentine emerges as a figure one can root for. That essence remains popular to this day and is the driving force behind the popular holiday today.
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A Pagan Festival in February
While more popular legends, as discussed above, suggest that Valentine's Day is celebrated in memory of the death or burial of Valentine, others claim that it is an effort to Christianize the pagan celebration of Lupercalia.
Lupercalia, celebrated on the ides of February (15th February), was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture as well as to the founders of Rome, Remus and Romulus.
The commencement of the festival was done through a ritual in which Roman priests, members of the Luperci, would visit the sacred cave that is believed to be the place where Remus and Romulus were brought up by the she-wolf. There, the priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. They would then strip the goat and coat its hide in the sacrificial blood and roam the streets, gently slapping women and crops with this.
Later, the young women would put their names in a big run where the city's bachelors would choose a name and become paired with the chosen woman for a year. This year of courtship often ended in marriage.
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Cupid, the God of Love
While today, Cupid is often depicted as a rosy-cheeked baby with a bow and arrow, his origins lay in the Greek myth of Eros, the god of love who could alter people's emotions with his special bow. It was only overtime that the image of the manly Eros transformed into that of a lovely cherub, especially during the Hellenistic period which was known for its decadence.
In one myth, Venus became jealous of Psyche's beauty and told her son, Cupid, to induce her to fall for a monster. When Cupid went to perform the deed, he fell in love with Psyche himself and married her on the condition that she would only approach him at night and not try to see his face. Psyche followed this rule for some time and they remained happy, but eventually curiosity got the better of her and she stole a glance. Enraged and betrayed, Cupid fled. Following this, Psyche wandered the world in search of her lover, going through several trials set in her path by his mother, Venus. The result of all her toils was eventual immortality and being reunited with Cupid.
Cupid was eventually transformed from the handsome immortal of the archaic period to a mischievous child during the hellenistic period. During the Victorian era, this cherub was depicted on Valentine's Day cards due to his close associations with love, thus starting a holiday tradition that has carried on to this day.
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Interesting Facts
1.
There are a dozen saints with the name Valentine or Valentinus which is why the patron saint of Valentine's Day is referred to as St. Valentine of Rome.
2.
Valentine's Day, while commonly associated with the 14th of February, can be celebrated on several other occasions such as on the 3rd of November (St. Valentine of Viterbo), on the 7th of January (St. Valentine of Raetia), on the 25th of July (St. Valentina the Virgin).
3.
Other variations of Valentine's Day include White Day in Japan on the 14th of March, Black Day in Korea on the 14th of April, and Chinese Qixi Festival on the 7th of August.