For those
you love

Where Valentine's Day Comes From

Valentine's Day traces back to Ancient Rome and the feast of Lupercalia, later reshaped by the early Christian church in honor of Saint Valentine — a name attached to at least two martyred priests whose stories blurred into legend over the centuries.

By the Middle Ages, the day had become linked to romantic love, inspired in part by the medieval belief that mid-February marked the start of birds' mating season. Chaucer wrote of it in the 1380s, and handwritten valentine notes followed soon after across Europe.

The mass-produced greeting card arrived in the 1800s, and gift-giving — flowers, sweets, and small tokens of affection — has carried the tradition ever since. Today it's less about any one saint and more about a simple idea: taking a day to tell the people you love that you love them.