Valentine’s Day: From a Martyr’s Fate to Chocolates and Roses

By George Leggett, 3nd Year Ancient History

Valentine’s Day in Western society takes place on 14th February and traditionally celebrates romantic love through symbols such as hearts, roses, and anything pink or red. Meanwhile, chocolates and flowers have become consumerist representations of love and affection, encouraged as customary expressions for the occasion. However, while some celebrations, such as Christmas, retain recognisable connections to their ancient roots, the association of Valentine’s Day with chocolates and flowers is particularly striking in demonstrating how far the holiday has diverged from the significance of its original date.

Saint Valentine

 14th February marks the death of St Valentine, a Christian preacher in the 3rd century CE under the Roman Empire. It is thought that St Valentine, or Valentinus in Latin, in an era when Christians were persecuted under Roman law. He is believed to have travelled to convert and teach Romans, who worshipped pagan gods, about the core tenets of Christianity. He is also said to have conducted marriages for Christian couples, which angered Emperor Claudius II (Claudius Gothicus), as married men were exempt from conscription into the Roman army.

Eventually, Claudius would have Valentine executed, supposedly having met him in person. Claudius initially liked Valentine, until Valentine attempted to convert him to Christianity. This enraged Claudius, who demanded Valentine renounce his faith or be beaten and then beheaded. Valentine refused and was martyred on 14th February, 269 CE. In late antiquity, Pope Gelasius I suppressed the pagan festival of Lupercalia, which had been celebrated in ancient Rome from 13th to 15th February and had continued under Christian rule.  In 496 CE, Pope Gelasius erected a basilica over the supposed burial site of St Valentine, and decreed that he should be honoured on the 14th of February each year, though the latter part is disputed.

The first time St Valentine’s Day came to be associated with romantic love was in Chaucer’s poem “The Parliament of Fowls”, written in 1382, possibly to commemorate the marriage of the English king Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. The Parliament of Fowls is a poem about birds choosing their mates, in which Chaucer writes (later translated into modern English: "For this was on Saint Valentine's Day/When every bird comes there to choose his match”. Charles, Duke of Orleans, is credited with writing the first “Valentine’s” message in the 15th century, as he begins a letter to his wife by addressing her as “my very sweet Valentine”. The tradition of sending Valentine’s cards became widespread in Britain and America after the invention of the postage stamp in 1840.

One enduring aspect of Valentine’s Day that may be traced back to St Valentine himself is the use of heart-shaped cut-outs. He is said to have given persecuted Christians heart-shaped pieces of parchment to remind them of God’s love. Another legend suggests that on the day of his execution, he wrote a farewell letter to the daughter of Judge Asterius, signing it “from your Valentine” — which may have inspired the modern expression of “being someone’s Valentine.”

There is still division around the relevance of Valentine’s Day in 2025, whether you think it is a sappy yet charming celebration of romantic love, an opportunistic attempt at a cash-grab selling flowers and chocolate, or a chance to express platonic or self-love. No matter the opinion one has around the day itself, it is truly remarkable to think that our associations of chocolate, flowers, coffee dates and the like originate from the date of a Christian martyr’s execution, yet it is nonetheless fascinating to see how the traditions have morphed and developed over time.

Edited by Shujiao Guo, MA History