- [Narrator] Every year, millions of kids give cards
and candy to their classmates or secret crush.
But why?
Who invented Valentine's Day, and when did it start?
Let's find out on today's episode of
- [Commanding Voice] Colossal Questions.
- [Narrator] As you probably know, Valentine's Day,
also known as Saint Valentine's Day,
is a holiday held every year on February 14th
to celebrate our loved ones, give them cards, candy,
and other gifts to show them how we feel.
Who is Saint Valentine?
And why was this lovely holiday named after him?
It's hard to say.
For starters, there are several different saints
named Valentine.
Experts can't say for sure
which one is the man behind the holiday,
but some believe it's named after Saint Valentine of Rome,
who died in 269 A.D. after defying the Emperor.
Claudius II decided that single men make better soldiers
than guys with wives and families,
so he outlawed marriage for young men of fighting age.
Saint Valentine defied the Emperor's orders
and continued performing marriage ceremonies for young,
love-struck couples in secret
until he was discovered and put to death.
Okay, so the history of how the holiday got its name
is murky to say the least, but what about its date?
Why does Valentine's Day fall on February 14th?
Most experts believe it was picked to keep the tradition
of an old Roman festival called Lupercalia.
It was a day-long holiday dedicated to love and fertility
held on the 15th of February each year.
As Christianity spread across the Roman Empire,
Lupercalia was outlawed
and replaced with a church-approved version
held the day before known as Saint Valentine's Day
that took its place.
By the Middle Ages,
lovers began giving valentine's to each other.
The oldest-known valentine was written in 1415
by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife
while he was locked up in the Tower of London
after being captured in battle.
A woman named Esther Howland,
known today as the mother of the American valentine,
invented the first mass-produced version,
which was decorated with lace, colored paper,
ribbons, and other things we're still using to make them.
Today, almost 150 million Valentine's Day cards
are sent every year, and that number is only growing.
So this year, if you've got a special someone on your mind,
do what people have done for thousands of years.
Work up the nerve to write them a valentine.
(playful music)