Happy Valentine’s Day - Why?

Today is Friday, February 14^th, Valentine’s Day. I’m not sure how Cupid became affiliated with a dead guy who lived in the 5^th century. Cupid dates back to Ancient Rome and the Roman gods, and Saint Valentine was also Roman but a few centuries later. Maybe when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s Amore!

I asked the interwebs who St. Valentine is and why he’s celebrated today, and it told me this:

“Saint Valentine, also known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a historical figure associated with the celebration of Valentine's Day. He was an Italian doctor who later became a priest and is believed to have performed miracles and taught people about true love.”

What does February 14^th have to do with Saint Valentine? That was the day he was executed. Legend says that just before his death, he sent an affectionate note to the beautiful daughter of his jailer—the very first Valentine.

A stained glass window depicting St. Valentine

Then I went down the same rabbit hole about Cupid, who wasn’t always stupid, or a baby.

“Originally Cupid was more of a heartthrob than a cherub. In 700 BC, this character of legend was called Eros, the Greek word for desire. Eros, the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, would play with the hearts of mortals and gods to cause mayhem. Depicted as a young man in his late teens, he was considered both handsome and threatening, and he used his power to make people fall in love.” That sounds a lot like the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Sculpture of the Greek god Eros.

To clarify, Eros was the Greek version of the son of Aphrodite. When the Romans imported Greek religion, Aphrodite became Venus, and Eros became her infant son Cupid instead of the hot boy band member envisioned by the Greeks. A baby with a quiver of magic arrows was far less intimidating.

The link of Cupid to Valentine’s Day and to love became cemented during the Victorian Era when greeting card manufacturers used Renaissance painting images of the winged infant. When Hallmark printed their first Valentine’s Cards in 1926, exchanging greetings with your crush became all the rage, and we still do it today. Around 145 million Valentine’s cards are exchanged annually, not including the little ones handed out in classrooms.

A vintage rendering of Cupid, and his twin, from a Valentine's Day Card.

Why do we use a heart shape to represent love?

There are a lot of theories about this one. Each of us has experienced intense emotions that cause sensations in our chests, in our hearts. Since ancient times, people have associated the heart as the control center of our emotions. So once artists began really studying human anatomy around the time of the renaissance, they started drawing the heart, although not quite anatomically correct.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Another theory that links the heart shape to romantic love suggests that the imprint left by the shape of a woman’s buttocks after she has been seated on a surface appears in the shape of a heart. Maybe it’s all about the booty.

Whichever source is correct, hearts have been associated with Valentine’s Day since greetings were first exchanged, linking the heart shape to February 14^th, and by extension, creating February as “Heart Month.”

This is where we get to the good part. You know I’m all about hearts. I’m on my third one, after all. Valentine’s day is also National Donor Day, set aside to honor donors and their families. Today I am here because I was blessed by two very special organ donors. I find it very fitting that the holiday dedicated to love is also dedicated to organ donors because such a gift is a true gesture of love for all humanity.

February 14th is National Donors Day. Valentine’s Day has a new meaning when you need an organ transplant to survive. 120,000 Americans currently waiting for precious organ transplants depend on the public to sign up with their state’s organ donor registries on National Donor Day every February 14. It’s a more concrete way to show love than giving heart-shaped candy, roses and red velvet teddy bears. By donating organs such as corneas, tissue, marrow, platelets and blood; you create a living legacy of your generosity with the ultimate gift of love.

Share your love today by registering to be an organ donor. If you already have, you have my eternal gratitude. Many families are together with their loved ones because of the generosity of an organ donor.

Sign Up To Be An Organ Donor

Valentine’s Day in a Nutshell

We celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February because that’s the day a 5th century priest was executed, but before he died, he sent a love letter to the executioner’s daughter, and we use images of Cupid because he’s a less scary version of Eros, the Greek God of Love. We give chocolates for reasons I didn’t investigate, but they’re in a heart-shaped box because ancient man thought our emotions were stored in our hearts, but they were lousy at actually drawing one, or they were inspired by their girlfriend’s backside. Of course, we give flowers because they are the sex organs of plants. And the holiday was never a big deal until Hallmark created greeting cards during the 1800’s and exchanging greetings became a thing. Americans are projected to spend $27.5 Billion on the holiday in 2025. That’s a lot of money to celebrate the death of a horny priest.