ObservanceSunday, February 14, 2027
Valentine's Day
- Date
- Recurs
- Every year on February 14
- Category
- Celebration
Valentine's Day falls on February 14 and is, in the United States, a largely commercial occasion with a genuinely obscure past. The Library of Congress calls its origins "murky," and the honest version of the history is a series of plausible connections — a Roman fertility festival, one or more martyrs named Valentine, a Chaucer poem about birds choosing mates — rather than a line of descent anyone can trace end to end.
History
There were several early Christian martyrs named Valentine, and February 14 is the saint day associated with them; which one the day commemorates is not settled. The first known printed mention of Saint Valentine is believed to be in the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493, and it says nothing about any role as a patron saint of lovers.
The Roman connection is the one repeated most often and established least firmly. Romans held the feast of Lupercalia, a mid-February spring festival with fertility rites, on February 15. Pope Gelasius I banned Lupercalia in the late fifth century and is sometimes credited with replacing it with St. Valentine's Day — but that is an attribution rather than a documented act, and Britannica presents it as uncertain.
Romance attaches to the date in the fourteenth century, and the earliest link anyone can point to is literary. Geoffrey Chaucer, who died in 1400, wrote in Parliament of Fowls of birds gathering in early spring on "seynt valentynes day" to choose their mates, which tracks a medieval belief that birds paired off on February 14. The oldest surviving valentine letter in English is later and more human: in February 1477 Margery Brews wrote to John Paston and signed herself "your Valentine, Margery Brews."
Handmade valentines appear in the sixteenth century, probably the first greeting cards of any kind, and mass production begins as early as 1800. The American industry has a name and an address. Esther Howland was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1828, graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in 1847, and received her first English valentine that same year. Working from a third-floor room of the family house on Summer Street, she had the business fully launched by the end of 1849. Her brother Allen took samples out expecting perhaps $200 in orders and came back with $5,000 worth. Her first advertisement ran in the Worcester Daily Spy in February 1850, with simple cards at five cents and elaborate ones reaching a dollar. Sales eventually grew to $100,000 a year. She incorporated as the New England Valentine Company in the early 1870s, moved into a Main Street factory in 1879, and sold the business in 1880 to care for her ailing father. A newspaper later called her the Mother of the American Valentine.
Timeline
- 1493 — The Nuremberg Chronicle carries what is believed to be the first printed mention of Saint Valentine, with no reference to lovers.
- Late 5th century — Pope Gelasius I bans Lupercalia; the claim that he replaced it with St. Valentine's Day is a later and uncertain attribution.
- Before 1400 — Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls ties "seynt valentynes day" to birds choosing their mates.
- February 1477 — Margery Brews writes to John Paston signing "your Valentine" — the earliest surviving valentine letter in English.
- 1850 — Esther Howland's first advertisement runs in the Worcester Daily Spy; her cards sell from five cents to a dollar.
- 1880 — Howland sells the New England Valentine Company to care for her ailing father.
How to observe
Read the Paston letter. Margery Brews's February 1477 note to John Paston survives in the British Library's Paston collection and is the earliest known valentine in English. It is also partly a negotiation about her dowry, which makes it a better document than a sentimental one.
Look at Esther Howland's actual cards. The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester holds her valentines alongside the Victorian cards around them, and the layered paper-lace construction explains at a glance why a hand-assembled card could cost a dollar in 1850.
Treat the spending figures as what they are. The National Retail Federation has surveyed Valentine's Day intentions annually since 2004 and put expected 2026 spending at a record $29.1 billion. That is a retail trade association's survey of what consumers say they plan to spend, not a government measurement of what they spent — worth citing, worth labeling.
Frequently asked questions
Who was St. Valentine?
Not one identifiable person. February 14 is the saint day associated with several early Christian martyrs named Valentine, and the record does not say which of them the day commemorates. The earliest known printed mention of him, in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, says nothing about lovers.
Did Valentine's Day come from the Roman festival Lupercalia?
Possibly, but it is not documented. Lupercalia fell on February 15, and Pope Gelasius I banned it in the late fifth century; he is sometimes credited with replacing it with St. Valentine's Day. Britannica treats that as an attribution rather than a fact, and the Library of Congress calls the holiday's origins murky.
When did February 14 become about romance?
In the fourteenth century. The earliest surviving link is Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls, in which birds choose their mates on "seynt valentynes day" — reflecting a medieval belief that birds paired off on that date.
Who made the first American valentines?
Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts built the first American valentine business, launched by the end of 1849 and advertising from February 1850. Handmade valentines in Europe date to the sixteenth century and mass production began as early as 1800, so she was not first in the world — she was first at scale in the United States.
Is Valentine's Day a federal holiday?
No. It has no official status and nothing closes for it. In 2027 it falls on a Sunday.
When is Valentine's Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | February 14 | Sunday |
| 2028 | February 14 | Monday |
| 2029 | February 14 | Wednesday |
| 2030 | February 14 | Thursday |
| 2031 | February 14 | Friday |
Sources
- Library of Congress, Today in History: February 14 — https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/february-14/ → the holiday's origins described as "murky"; Lupercalia on February 15; February 14 as the saint day associated with several early Christian martyrs named Valentine; the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493 believed to be the first printed mention of Saint Valentine, with no reference to lovers; the medieval belief that birds choose mates on February 14; handmade valentines in the sixteenth century as probably the first greeting cards; mass production as early as 1800.
- Britannica, How did Valentine's Day start? — https://www.britannica.com/question/How-did-Valentines-Day-start → the origin described as unclear; the Lupercalia link as an often-made connection; Pope Gelasius I banning Lupercalia in the late fifth century and being "sometimes credited" with replacing it, presented as uncertain; romance attaching to the holiday in the fourteenth century.
- British Library, My 'right well-beloved Valentine' (Medieval Manuscripts blog) — https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2019/02/my-right-well-beloved-valentine-.html → Chaucer (d. 1400) and Parliament of Fowls on birds choosing mates on "seynt valentynes day"; Margery Brews's February 1477 letter to John Paston signed "your Valentine, Margery Brews," described as thought to be the earliest surviving valentine love letter; the feast and romance not always having been associated.
- Library of Congress, Esther Howland and the Business of Love (Inside Adams) — https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2016/03/esther-howland-and-the-business-of-love/ → Howland born 1828 in Worcester, died 1904, later called the "Mother of the American Valentine"; Mount Holyoke Female Seminary 1847 and her first English valentine that year; the third-floor room on Summer Street and the business fully launched by the end of 1849; brother Allen expecting about $200 in orders and returning with $5,000; first advertisement in the Worcester Daily Spy, February 1850; cards from five cents to one dollar; sales eventually $100,000 annually; New England Valentine Company incorporated in the early 1870s; Main Street factory in 1879; sale of the business in 1880 to care for her ailing father.
- National Retail Federation, Valentine's Day (holiday data and trends) — https://nrf.com/research-insights/holiday-data-and-trends/valentines-day → expected 2026 Valentine's Day spending of a record $29.1 billion; NRF's annual Valentine's Day survey conducted since 2004. Cited as the originating organization for its own survey; it is a retail trade association measuring stated intentions, and the page labels it as such rather than presenting it as an official statistic.
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