Feeling the love this Valentine’s Day
“Don’t forget: I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” – “Notting Hill” That quote lives on in infamy as a GIF in the internet age. Even if you haven’t seen the classic Julia Roberts vehicle “Notting Hill,” you’ve likely seen the meme gracing many a group chat. It’s just one of many golden “rom-com” moments, but love in pop culture isn’t limited to the rom-com.
It’s the yearning of Mr. Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice” (“You have bewitched me, body and soul”) and the heartbreak of “Titanic” (“I’ll never let go”).
Love is a beautiful, multi-faceted, messy, wonderful thing. And we get to celebrate it, yet again, this February.
In a pre-holiday 2025 article, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted some statistics from entities like the National Retail Federation, the Society for American Florists and others:
• An estimated $27.5 billion was projected to be spent on the holiday, or about $188.81 per household.
• 250 million roses alone are prepared by U.S. florists for the holiday.
• Sweets are the most popular gift, with 56% of Americans planning to purchase candy.
• Six million marriage proposals are made on Feb. 14 each year.
• Pet owners spent $1.5 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets in 2024.
The commercial output surrounding this holiday is impressive. But why – aside from celebrating your loved one and doing something nice for them? What is the history of the holiday?
Its exact origins remain fuzzy, enveloped in the legends of St. Valentine. Britannica notes: “Although the Roman Catholic Church continues to recognize St. Valentine as a saint, he was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 because of the lack of reliable information about him. He is the patron saint of lovers, people with epilepsy and beekeepers.”
History.com has more to add: “While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial – which probably occurred around AD 270 – others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to ‘Christianize’ the pagan celebration of Lupercalia, celebrated at the ides of February, or Feb. 15.
“During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance. The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine’s Day as a day of romantic celebration in his 1375 poem ‘Parliament of Fowls,’ writing, ‘For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.’”
What are some of your favorite Valentine’s Day traditions?
by Andy Haman
