“Love means to see the one you love happy.”

Every year on February 14, Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is observed. Valentine's Day began as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr by the same name. Later folk traditions helped it grow into a major global festival of romance and love in many religious, cultural, and commercial contexts.

There are a number of martyrdom legends associated with several Saint Valentines tied to February including one account of the captivity of Saint Valentine of Rome for ministering to Christians oppressed under the Roman Empire in the third century. An old legend states that Saint Valentine gave his jailer's blind daughter her sight back. An 18th-century embellishment to the legend claims Saint Valentine wrote the jailer's daughter a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution. Several later additions to the legend have better connected it to the theme of love. Tradition holds that Saint Valentine performed weddings for Christian soldiers who were forbidden to marry by the Roman emperor.

Celebration: Valentine's Day is observed globally in a variety of ways. Greeting cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts are frequently exchanged with loved ones. To commemorate the event, a lot of people also arrange romantic dinners, excursions, or unique activities.

Friendship: Valentine's Day has come to honor platonic and romantic friendships in addition to romantic love. To express gratitude for their support and company, some people exchange cards or gifts with friends and family.

Valentine was the name of several martyrs among the early Christians. Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae) are the Valentines commemorated on February 14. Valentine of Rome was a Roman priest who was buried on the Via Flaminia after being executed in 269. The Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome housed the relics of Saint Valentine. During Nicholas IV's presidency (1288–1292), the church "remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of Saint Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede." The Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome, is home to the flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine. Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in has more artifacts.

Whence did Valentine's Day originate?

Valentine's Day is a set day on the calendar that was once confused with Lupercalia, an ancient Roman celebration observed in mid-February. Some historians think this is how the event came to symbolize love. Lupercalia was a fertility celebration that might have involved pairing men and women by drawing names out of a jar. The marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera was celebrated in the middle of winter in ancient Greece.

Why is Valentine's Day observed?

Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages, the height of courtly love, when love was expressed in poetry, music, paintings, and other wide, romantic declarations that honored a partnership. Poetry and songs of the time began to employ the term "valentine" to refer to a lover by the end of the fifteenth century, and in England, a book titled The Young Man's Valentine Writer was produced in the eighteenth century. Valentine's Day as we know it began in the middle of the 1800s when mass-produced paper Valentine's cards began to be made (but homemade card ideas are still worthwhile to try).

Alternatives and Criticism: Some individuals argue that Valentine's Day is too commercialized, while others think it's stressful or exclusive, especially for single people or those going through a terrible relationship. Consequently, as inclusive substitutes for the customary Valentine's Day celebrations, alternative occasions like "Singles Awareness Day" and "Galentine's Day," which honor female friendships, have grown in popularity.