Saint Valentine`s Day, colloquially simply Valentine`s Day, is a holiday of love celebrated every year on February 14. On this day, loved ones express their love for each other more intensely with greetings and gifts.

Although there have been several Christian martyrs named Valentine, Valentine`s Day is most likely named after a priest who was martyred around 270 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius II.

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He signed his letters with the phrase `from your Valentine.` The origins of the holiday are associated with the Roman festival of Lupercalia, celebrated in mid-February.

In these holidays, they celebrated the arrival of spring, performed fertility rituals, and paired women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I renamed Lupercalia to Saint Valentine`s Day.

Around the 14th century, Saint Valentine`s Day became a day of romance and acquired traditions that more closely resemble modern Saint Valentine`s Day celebrations.

The history of Valentine`s Day origins, as well as information about Saint Valentine himself, is quite unclear and imprecise, but it is known that this day combines traditions from both ancient Rome and the Christian world.

Although legends are often considered unreliable, they portray the priest Valentine as sympathetic, heroic, and – most importantly – romantic. It`s no surprise that in the Middle Ages, especially in England and France, Valentine became one of the most popular saints.

In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring, and it was considered a time of purification. Special rituals were performed in homes – dusting, and salt and wheat were scattered in all rooms.

The oldest known Valentine`s Day greeting still exists today – it is a romantic poem written by Charles, Duke of Orléans, who was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and imprisoned in the Tower of London, to his wife. The greeting written in 1415 is now on display in London at the British Museum.

In England, Valentine`s Day has been celebrated since the 17th century. In the mid-18th century, the tradition of sending small gifts or handwritten notes spread rapidly among lovers and friends of all classes.

In medieval England, on Valentine`s Day, young people also chose their `Valentine.` Several young people gathered together and wrote girls` names on pieces of paper, put them in hats, and each drew their `Valentine.`

The drawn girl became the drawer`s `Valentine` for a whole year. This meant dedicating sonnets to the chosen girl, accompanying her everywhere, in short, behaving like a true cavalier.

There was also a tradition of dressing children in adult clothes, and the children would go from house to house singing songs about Saint Valentine.

By the end of the century, handwritten notes were replaced by printed cards – they became widely available thanks to improvements in printing technology. Moreover, in an era when direct expression of feelings was considered improper, a printed card allowed one to express feelings without violating etiquette.

Italians consider it their duty to give sweets to their loved ones on this day. Therefore, this day in Italy is also called Sweet Day.
The French, in turn, introduced love messages – quatrains.

In Finland, on February 14, people give each other heart-shaped gifts, as well as gifts to mothers.