Every year on 14th February, people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day. Shops are filled with red roses, chocolates, and heart-shaped gifts. Couples go on romantic dates, and love messages flood social media.
But did you know that Valentine’s Day was never really about love? The history behind this day is not as romantic as we think. It actually has a dark and surprising past that many people don’t know.
So, how did this dark and brutal history turn into the modern celebration of love and romance? Let’s uncover the truth about how this day came to be.
A dark beginning in Ancient Rome
Valentine’s Day is believed to have started in ancient Rome, but not as a day of love. Instead, it was linked to a brutal festival called Lupercalia. This festival took place from 13th to 15th February and involved some shocking events.
The festival was wild and had nothing to do with romance as we know it today. However, as time passed, some parts of this festival influenced the Valentine’s Day we now celebrate.
How Valentine was created
There are different stories about Saint Valentine, but the most famous one is about a Christian priest named Valentine. During the time of Emperor Claudius II, marriages were banned for young soldiers because the emperor believed that single men made better warriors. Valentine, however, secretly performed weddings for couples who wanted to be together.
From tragedy to romance
Even after Valentine’s tragic death, people still remembered him. In the Middle Ages, poets like Geoffrey Chaucer helped shape the idea of Valentine’s Day as a day for romance. He wrote a poem about birds finding their mates in mid-February, linking love and Valentine’s Day for the first time.
