Valentine week .
For additional uses, see Valentine’s Day (disambiguation).
This page is the destination for “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “Saint Valentine’s Day” redirects. For Bing Crosby’s album, see Saint Valentine’s Day (album). For the TV show, watch Saint Valentine’s Day (30 Rock). For more usage, see Happy Valentine’s Day (disambiguation).
Valentine’s Day (about 1909, a Valentine’s card)
The Feast of Saint Valentine or Saint Valentine’s Day are other names for it.
Witnessed by: People from different nations

Acknowledged in:

Communion of the Anglicans (see calendar)
Church of Luther (see calendar)
Catholicism in the traditional sense (see calendar)
Type: Commercial Observance, Romantic, Cultural, and Christian Significance: Feast day, a celebration of love and friendship
Among the traditions are novena prayers, greeting cards and presents, courtship, and church services.
Date:

February 14 (as observed by the Christian Church in the West)
July 6 (as observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church)
July 30 (as observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church)

Frequency: Annually.
Origins and History
Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is observed annually on February 14. Through folk traditions, it evolved throughout time into a significant celebration of passion and love in many cultures, religions, and economies around the world. It started out as a Christian holiday celebrating Valentine, a martyr.
Many Saint Valentines and February 14 are associated with martyrdom stories. Saint Valentine of Rome is a well-known example; in the third century, the Roman Empire imprisoned him for performing Christian services for oppressed people.

It is reported that Saint Valentine week healed his jailer’s blind daughter. He was also associated with passionate love because, according to later stories, he secretly performed marriages for Christian troops who were forbidden from being married by the Roman emperor. Another version of the tradition from the 18th century claims that he left a farewell message to the jailer’s daughter before his execution, with the words “Your Valentine” written on it. This sentence is still used in Valentine’s messages nowadays.
According to the eighth-century Gelasian Sacramentary, February 14 was declared the Feast of Saint Valentine. By the 14th and 15th centuries, the day had become associated with courtly love, based on the idea that springtime birds choose their partners.
In England, exchanging flowers, candies, and greeting cards (called “valentines”) as tokens of love had become commonplace by the 18th century. Today, the occasion is commonly linked to symbols like Cupid with his bow and arrow, doves, and heart-shaped outlines. In the 19th century, handmade Valentine’s Day cards were supplanted by mass-produced ones.
Traditionally known as “Saint Valentine’s Malady,” “Saint Valentine’s Keys” are given to lovers in Italy as a symbol of opening one’s heart and to youngsters as a charm against epilepsy.
Despite being extensively commemorated, Valentine’s Day is not a public holiday in any country. Nevertheless, it is officially recognized as a feast day by the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church. In several Eastern Orthodox churches, Saint Valentine’s Day is observed on July 6th in honor of Saint Valentine of Rome and July 30th in honor of Saint Valentine, Bishop of Interamna (modern-day Terni, Italy).

Saint Valentine week and His Relics.

A number of early Christian martyrs were named Valentine week. The two most well-known are:
Following his martyrdom in 269 AD, Saint Valentine of Rome, a Roman priest, was laid to rest on the Via Flaminia. His relics were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino during the Middle Ages, which is still a major place of pilgrimage. His remains were then transferred to the Church of Santa Prassede under the reign of Pope Nicholas IV. His flower-crowned skull is now on display at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome, while other relics are kept at the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.
Saint Valentine of Terni, the bishop of Interamna (modern-day Terni, Italy), was martyred by Emperor Aurelian in 273 AD, according to legend. His bones are in the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni.
The Catholic Encyclopedia lists a third Saint Valentine who was killed in Africa with his companions, although little is known about him.
Valentine’s Day is observed in many Christian traditions. It has “Commemoration” status in the Calendar of Saints of the Anglican Communion and is mentioned in the calendar of the Lutheran Church.
However, the Catholic Church eliminated Saint Valentine’s feast day from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 due to a lack of historical proof.

Nevertheless, conservative Catholics who follow the pre-Vatican II calendar and people in Balzan, Malta, where it is believed that Saint Valentine’s relics are kept, celebrate the feast.

Association with Romantic Love.
Valentine’s Day has Christian origins and was established in the Western Church as a feast day honoring Saint Valentine. However, other historians suggest that it may have incorporated elements of ancient Roman celebrations such as Lupercalia, a fertility festival celebrating the gods Pan and Juno that was held from February 13 to 15.
The idea that Pope Gelasius I banned Lupercalia and replaced it with Valentine’s Day is unsupported by any trustworthy historical evidence. There was no intentional connection between Lupercalia and Valentine’s Day, according to some scholars.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s Influence in the Fourteenth Century
The oldest recorded mention of Saint Valentine’s Day and romantic love may be found in Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem “Parliament of Fowls” (1382), which was written to mark the first anniversary of King Richard II and Anne of Bohemia’s engagement.

Chaucer wrote:
“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day, When every bird comes there to choose his mate.”
By promoting Valentine’s Day as a romantic occasion, this poem affected medieval European literary traditions.

Conclusion.
Originally a Christian feast day honoring Saint Valentine week , Valentine’s Day has evolved into a global celebration of love and affection. Over the years, it has combined folk traditions, romantic customs, and commercial elements to become one of the most well-known love festivals.