Dates and Origins of Valentine's day

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Valentine's day Dates in 2024, 2025 and 2026

Valentine's day is celebrated at the following dates:

• Wednesday, February 14, 2024
• Friday, February 14, 2025
• Saturday, February 14, 2026

Valentine's day is celebrated annually on February 14. It is most well known as a celebration of love and romantic relationships. There is a religious significance in certain Christian communities such as the Lutheran¹, Anglican²and Eastern Orthodox church though the latter celebrates on July 6 and July 30³.

Origin

St. Valentine's day is a celebration of several early Christian martyrs named Valentine, especially St. Valentine of Terni who was a catholic priest executed in 269 AD for illegally marrying Christians according to their faith⁴. Before his execution, legend says that St. Valentine healed his jailer's daughter, Asterius, and wrote her a letter signed with “your Valentine.⁴”

The holiday became associated with love around the 14th century within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer as courtly love and chivalry were at their peak⁵. It was only then that connections between Valentine's day and romance were established. Previously, the emphasis was placed on the concept of sacrifice, especially animal sacrifice, rather than romantic love⁶. The earliest description of Valentine's day as a celebration of love is from the Charter of the Court of Love issued by Charles IV in Mantes-la-Jolie in 1400⁷. It describes feasts, jousting and dancing as well as love songs and poetry contests⁷. Supposedly, ladies would solve disputes among lovers. The reliability of this document is questionable, however, because Isabeau of Bavaria, King Charles's queen, may have imagined the festivities while she was waiting out the plague⁷.

By the 18th century in England, it evolved into an occasion for lovers to present flowers, candy and by sending letters called valentines⁸. Symbols for Valentine's day include hearts, doves and the figure of Cupid⁹. Today, handwritten cards have been mostly replaced by cards that are mass-produced⁹.

Celebration

Though not an officially recognized holiday, valentine's day has become highly commercialized and widely celebrated. 141 million valentines cards are sent out each year and school children often write one another valentines cards as well¹⁰.

In the U.S. valentine's day spending has steadily increased from an average of $ 142.31 per person in 2015 to $ 146.84 per person in 2016¹¹. Traditionally, valentine's gifts are exchanged between lovers such as jewelry, chocolates, flowers or dinner. Valentine's day is the second busiest evening of the year for restaurants following mother's day.