International Days
Happy Valentine's Day
February 14th 2024
14 February 2024 - Happy Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of saint Valentine, is celebra1ted annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine and through later folk traditions, it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.
Whether you love Valentine's Day or hate it, one thing's clear: Valentine's Day history goes way back. And while Valentine's Day is now known for kissing, Valentine's Day gifts, and dinner reservations, the origins of the holiday are far less romantic. Here, the Valentine's Day history that wouldn't make it into a rom-com, featuring a saint, a massacre, and even the sinful nuns of Valentine's Day (seriously!).
Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?
Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages, the era of courtly love, when broad, romantic statements of devotion—poems, songs, paintings—celebrated partnership. By the end of the 15th century, the word "valentine" was being used to describe a lover in poems and songs of the day, and in the 18th century, a book called The Young Man's Valentine Writer was published in England. By the mid-19th century, mass-produced paper Valentine's Cards were being created (though DIY Valentine's card ideas are still worth trying), and Valentine's Day it was born.
The truth about Valentine's Day history is that the romantic holiday isn't immune to tragedy. During Prohibition in Chicago, seven men were killed by a gang organized by Al Capone on February 14th in 1929. The Valentine's Day Massacre became a flashpoint in Prohibition history, with police and lawmakers going after the gangs and mobs that had formed in cities to control then-illegal substances like alcohol.
The celebration of Valentine's Day has been banned in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia due to beliefs the holiday conflicts with Islamic culture.
Since 2009, certain practices pertaining to Valentine's Day (such as giving flowers, cards, or other gifts suggestive of Valentine's Day) are banned in Iran. Iran's Law Enforcement Force prosecutes distributors of goods with symbols associated with Valentine's Day. In 2021, the Prosecutor's Office of Qom, Iran, stated that it will prosecute those who disseminate and provide anti-cultural symbols like those of Valentine's Day. Although Valentine's Day is not accepted or approved by any institution in Iran and has no official status, it is highly accepted among a large part of the population. One of the reasons for Valentine's Day acceptance since the 2000s by the general population is the change in relations between the sexes, and because sexual relationships are no longer strictly limited to be within marriage.