MUST-TRY IDEAS FOR CELEBRATING VALENTINE’S DAY DOWN UNDER

Valentine’s Day is actually named after Saint Valentine, an Italian Christian man who became a martyr in 269 A.D. While according to the “Acta Sanctorum,” or “Lives of the Saints”—an encyclopedia of every saint since 1643—there are at least three Saint Valentines, the legend that created Valentine’s Day as we know started from one who was born in Terni during the third century.

According to the legend, St Valentine was arrested by the Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus for passing love letters between jailed lovers, and secretly celebrating Roman weddings. While Valentinus was in custody, he learned his jailer, a man named Asterio, had a blind daughter, named Julia. Valentine, overcome with humility and a desire to help, miraculously cured Julia’s blindness. Overcome with joy and awe from witnessing such an occurrence, Asterio converted to Christianity. When Emperor Claudius found out, he had all three beheaded on February 14th, 269

As to how Valentine’s Day was first celebrated, the theory is that it’s a change of name from an ancient debaucherous pagan festival called Lupercalia. Held in the middle of February, Lupercalia a carnival that involved men being paired up with women, slapping them with goat-hides to increase their fertility and running through the streets of Rome half-naked; all, apparently, in the name of love and fertility. In 496, Pope Gelasius intended to replace the event with something more Christian, opting to name it after the martyr Saint Valentine. Although some claim this might not be true, it does make a lot of sense.

Valentine’s Day became even more significant and powerful 1000 years later through literature in the form of the father of English literature—14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

In Chaucer’s poem “Parlemont of Foules”, a line exists that is one of the earliest references to Valentine’s day being a special time for lovers. In the poem, there’s a direct connection between bird’s mating in February, the time in England just before Spring, and humans celebrating love — For this was on seynt Volantynys day. Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

This whole association of February being the month of love spread quickly, with both men and women in England, France and all over Europe professing their love and adoration for each other. Given how close it was to Valentine’s Day, it’s easy to see how the link came to be. One famous example was in February 1415 when the Duke of Orleans, imprisoned in London tower, sent a love letter to his wife, confessing his lovesickness and referring to her as his Valentine. His letter is actually the oldest love letter still in existence. The influence even went as far as the most famous writer in human history, Shakespeare, referencing the idea of a “Valentine” through a line in Hamlet where Ophelia references herself as his Valentine.

By the 18th century, Valentine’s Day had become an incredibly important tradition for everyone. All over Europe and the US, lovers would give each other flowers and cards to commemorate their love for each other. And when access to printing became widely available, this only increased the popularity of it. This tradition of giving gifts continued onwards into the 19th and 20th century, culminating in what we see today.