Valentine’s Day is a beloved holiday celebrated each year in February to represent love and the care people have for one another, and the day is full of its own history. 

   Although it doesn’t have to be a romantic affection, many celebrate the holiday with a significant other. Family and friends can also show their love for one another on this day. 

   The true start of Valentine’s Day is debatable. According to Britannica, some historians believe it began with a Roman festival called Lupercalia at the beginning of the fifth century. However, this celebration was ended by Pope Gelasius I and it is possible the holiday actually started at a later point in time. 

  According to History.com, a priest named Valentine in the third century was executed for his faith by the Roman Empire and had written his daughter a note in prison singing it, “from your Valentine.” A bishop named Saint Valentine married couples secretly during this time as well to save the husbands from being forced to go to war. Both of these are equally likely possibilities of the start of the holiday.

    In the Middle Ages, South African women often would pin the names of boys they admired on their clothing on this day to reveal who they had romantic attraction to. This also contributed to the origin of the celebration of Valentine’s Day.

      In the 1500s, actual cards and letters began to come to surface during February where people started to ask one another to be their Valentine. In the mid 1800s, the United States began to commercialize the holiday by selling roses, candies, and Cupid related items, all to represent beauty and love. 

   Now, Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide as an opportunity to celebrate the love everyone has for the people they care most about. So no matter the true origin, the development of the holiday has created something truly special.