Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romantic love in many regions around the world.
There are numerous stories associated with various Valentine's connected to February 14, one of the earliest written accounts is that of Saint Valentine of Rome's imprisonment for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians. According to legend, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge, and he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution. The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius 1 in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of the Christian martyr, Saint Valentine of Rome, who died on February 14 in AD 269.
The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffry Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, greeting cards, and scented candles.
Although not a public holiday in any country, Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church.
