History Logo
ShowsThis Day In HistoryScheduleTopicsStories
  • History Classics
  • Live TV
  • Your Profile
Your Profile
History
  • Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
  • Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
Email Updates
  • Live TV
  • History Classics
  • Shows
  • This Day In History
  • Schedule
  • Topics
  • Stories
  • Videos
  • History Podcasts
  • History Vault
  • Shop
  • History Travel
  1. Home
  2. Topics
  3. Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day

Each year on February 14, people exchange cards, candy or flowers with their special “valentine.” St. Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia.

Featured Articles

A bouquet of snowdrops.

Featured

7 Unique Valentine’s Day Traditions

Chocolates and roses are common ways to mark Valentine’s Day, but there are other, lesser-known traditions to commemorate the holiday.

Read moreRead more about 7 Unique Valentine’s Day Traditions
Painting of St. Valentine

Who Was the Real St. Valentine? The Many Myths Behind the Inspiration for Valentine’s Day

There were multiple St. Valentines (including decapitated ones), but it was a medieval poet who first established the holiday’s romantic tradition.

Read more

The Dos and Don’ts of 1940s Dating Etiquette

‘Mental Hygiene Films’ helped guide teens through the tough questions, like how to decide which girl to ask to the carnival and the proper way to end a first date.

Read more

Topics

See All

(Original Caption) Trumans Drive to Gettysburg. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: President and Mrs. Truman are shown in their small convertible, the President driving, as they made a pilgrimage to the battlefield at Gettysburg today. (July 6).

Featured

Great Romances in History

The Trumans He first saw her in Sunday school when he was six years old and she was just five. “She had golden curls and beautiful blue eyes,” he recalled. They graduated from high school together in 1901, but went their separate ways. He moved to Kansas City and she to Colorado for a year […]

Read moreRead more about Great Romances in History
HISTORY: Valentine's Day

History of Valentine’s Day

The Legend of St. Valentine Where did Valentine’s Day originate from? The history of the holiday—and the story of its patron saint—is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and […]

Read more
Valentine's Day heart-shaped chocolates, an antique card and roses on a satin background.

Valentine’s Day Quotes

Love is among the greatest muses, inspiring the world’s most famous romantics, from Shakespeare, who wrote 154 sonnets dealing with love, time, beauty and mortality, to Chilean poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda. The work of these authors, poets and playwrights speaks to the enduring power of love across the ages of human history. Quotes Above […]

Read more
Sketch of the Lupercalia festival of ancient Rome, undated, by Sir James Thornhill

Lupercalia

Lupercalia and the Legend of Romulus and Remus No one knows the exact origin of Lupercalia, but it has been traced back as far as the 6th century B.C. According to Roman legend, the ancient King Amulius ordered Romulus and Remus—his twin nephews and founders of Rome—to be thrown into the Tiber River to drown […]

Read more

Stories

See All

Featured

WWII Sweethearts ‘Sexted’ With Bawdy Acronyms

Think acronyms are a product of the digital era? Think again.

Read moreRead more about WWII Sweethearts ‘Sexted’ With Bawdy Acronyms

Victorian-Era ‘Vinegar’ Valentines Could Be Mean and Hostile

Rather than expressing love and affection, these cards were designed to offend.

Read more
Charles of Orleans, with his third wife Marie of Cleves

History’s Oldest-Known Valentine Was Written in Prison

A French medieval duke wrote the poem to his wife while he was held captive in the Tower of London.

Read more
American First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994), in a red dress, stands before a dining room table in the White House during the filming of a CBS News Special program called 'A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy,' Washington, D.C., January 15, 1962.

10 Things You Didn’t Know Happened on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is filled not only with cards, roses and chocolates but plenty of history as well.

Read more

Videos

See All

2:32 minTV-PG
Play

Featured

History of Valentine’s Day

How did St. Valentine become associated with love and romance? Get the full story behind the holiday.

Watch nowWatch now video about History of Valentine’s Day
3:46 minTV-14

Hand Made Chocolate

Famous Fat Dave creates an unforgettable box of chocolates for his special someone.

Watch now
3:06 minTV-G

History of Valentine’s Day

Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14th and where do the holiday customs come from?

Watch now
3:07 minTV-PG

Valentine’s Day Quotations

From the first mail-posted Valentine on record in 1806 to some of the precursors to today’s Valentines, Nancy Rosin’s 10,000 piece collection is a chronicle of the world’s social history of love.

Watch now
A+E NetworksOur Family of Brands
  • History Education
  • History Vault
  • Mobile/Apps
  • News
  • Shop
  • Share Your Opinion
Follow History
  • d
  • e
  • p
  • m
  • +
  • Biography
  • Crime and Investigation
  • History en Espanol
  • LRW
  • Military History
  • Ad Choices
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Accessibility Support
  • Copyright Policy
  • Corporate Information
  • Employment Opportunities
  • FAQ/Contact Us
  • Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Notice
  • Terms Of Use
  • TV Parental Guidelines
  • Contact Us
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Ad Choices
  • Accessibility Support

© 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.