Holiday: What’s the Origin of Valentine’s Day?

Pop Quiz: Fact or Fiction

1. According to Hallmark, more than 163 million cards—not including packaged kids’ valentines—are exchanged in the United States on Valentine's Day.

Fact Fiction

2. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world including Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Italy and Denmark.

Fact Fiction

3. The origin of Valentine’s Day is shrouded in mystery and legend.

Fact Fiction

4. St. Valentine was a Catholic priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II. He was jailed and later beheaded on Feb. 14.

Fact Fiction

5. St. Valentine was a bishop of Terni who was also beheaded.

Fact Fiction

6. St. Valentine was someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer's daughter. Like the others, he was probably beheaded.

Fact Fiction

7. St. Valentine was possibly all or none of
4-6 above.

Fact Fiction

8. The confusion over the origin of the holiday led the Catholic Church, in 1969,
to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official worldwide Catholic feasts.

Fact Fiction

9. The origins of St. Valentine’s Day lie in the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on February 15.

Fact Fiction

10. During the festival, young women would place their names in a large urn. The young men would draw a name and then be sexually involved with that young woman for the following year.

Fact Fiction

11. Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom.

Fact Fiction

12. Pope Gelasius I changed the lottery so that both young men and women drew the names of Catholic saints. The young people were then expected to emulate them for the following year.

Fact Fiction

13. Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became St. Valentine.

Fact Fiction

14. For Roman young men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of young women.

Fact Fiction

15. It became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.

Fact Fiction

16. Still other European legends from the Middle Ages cite the fact that February 14 marked the date when birds began mating.

Fact Fiction

17. Valentine’s Day became a holiday dedicated to romantic love. People have been observing it by writing love letters, sending flowers, candy, and small gifts to their beloved for many centuries.

Fact Fiction

* Answers: Please look in the comment box!


I’m indebted to two articles from American Catholic.org for this information.

Related: Visit the Carnival of Homeschooling for more "thinkful" posts like this.

Photo Credits: DaySpring's Mr. and Mrs. LOVE Collection. (Click here for more information.)




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