By Rachel Cheng, Staff Writer

Valentine’s Day: a widely known holiday that celebrates romance and love. Often celebrated with flowers, teddy bears, and boxes of chocolate, this holiday has been acknowledged since the late 1800s. However, many are unsure just where exactly this holiday originated, and how it has evolved into the celebration that it is to this day.  

Also known as Saint Valentine’s Day, this day originated as a pastoral festival called Lupercalia, which was believed to ensure good health and fertility for the people of Ancient Rome. However, as time has passed, the holiday has evolved into a widely recognized celebration of love.  Researchers are unsure about how exactly this holiday has become correlated with romantic love, but some suggest the theory that during the Roman festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman boys and girls were drawn in order to couple them.  

Now, the holiday’s influence has taken hold over the world. Residents of countries such as the United States, Brazil, India, the Philippines, France, and many more participate in this holiday’s festivities as well.  In addition, several countries in Asia such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea celebrate their own holiday along with Valentine’s Day: a day called White Day where women traditionally give gifts in return.   

Valentine’s Day also has a wide variety of traditions across the world.  For example, a comic of former United States president Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear inspired a man named Morris Mitchom and his wife to create a stuffed bear to commemorate the President.  These bears were mass produced and are now gifted as a show of affection on Valentine’s Day.  Furthermore, the red rose has evolved into a symbol of love as a result of a Greek myth, where rose bushes grew out of the ground from the goddess Aphrodite’s tears.  

However, Valentine’s Day is not only celebrated as a holiday for romantic love.  In many parts of the world, people celebrate the holiday by giving gifts to and spending time with friends. 

Mills High School student Erika Kita (12) remarks that, “Giving gifts to friends is also fun during Valentine’s Day instead of just to your significant other.  Valentine’s Day can be celebrated in more ways than just romance.”  In fact, many other students often express that things like chocolates, flowers, cards, and teddy bears are fun to give to a friend to show appreciation.  

Over the course of time, the celebration of Valentine’s day has evolved significantly: from a smaller Roman pastoral festival to a largely influential celebration of love and romance.  However, the spread of this holiday’s impact has allowed it to be appreciated by all, and serves as a way to display affection and care.