The Unbiblical Origin of St. Valentine's Day

Here we are again ── another civic year, and another St. Valentine’s Day. If you are a true Christian, should you be celebrating February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day?

Our beloved apostle John was inspired to write ──

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16) For all that is in the world ── the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life ── is not of the Father but is of the world. 17) And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” – 1 John 2:15-17.

Truly, St. Valentine’s Day is a worldly holiday. It was essentially built upon “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” The true origin of St. Valentine’s Day is outside of God’s living word ── the Holy Bible.

True Christians who might be tempted to compromise should ask themselves whether the origins of St. Valentine’s Day are biblical or pagan.

This is a subject that I researched in my youth, and it wasn’t too hard to figure out.

Notice this from The World Book Encyclopedia (Valentine’s Day. Volume 20. 1993, pg. 261) ──

“The ancient Romans held the festival of Lupercalia on February 15 to ensure protection from wolves. During this celebration, young men struck people with strips of animal hide. Women took the blows because they thought that the whipping made them more fertile. After the Romans conquered Britain in AD 43, the British borrowed many Roman festivals. Many writers link the festival of Lupercalia with Valentine’s Day because of the similar date and the connection with fertility.”

The online Encyclopedia Britannica (Valentine's Day) says  ──

“ … … the holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine's Day.”

Also, this pagan being named Cupid (a son of Venus) was also involved. According to a book I have in my library - Bulfinch's Mythology The Complete Texts - it states ──

“Cupid. The god of love in Roman mythology (Lat. cupido, desire, passion), is identified with the Greek Eros; son of Mercury and Venus. He is represented as a winged boy, carrying a bow and arrows. One legend says that he wets with blood the grindstone on which he sharpens his arrows.”

(Bulfinch's Mythology, Bulfinch, T., Cupid - Dictionary and Index, Crown Publishers, Inc., © 1979, pg. 897).

Does this St. Valentine’s Day sound to you like a holy festival of love or a pagan holiday of lust?

A very bold source writes ──

“The pagan celebrations were reworked to fit the martyr theme—after all, early and medieval Christianity did not approve of rituals that encouraged sexuality. Instead of pulling girls’ names from boxes, it is believed that both boys and girls chose the names of martyred saints from a box. It wasn’t until the 14th century that customs returned to celebrations of love and life rather than faith and death. …

As with so many other holidays that have pagan roots, divination came to play an important role in the development of modern Valentine’s Day. People looked to all sorts of things, primarily in nature, to find some sign of who might become their mate for life—their One True Love. There were also, of course, all sorts of things which came to be used to induce love or lust.”

(Cline, A., Valentine's Day: Religious Origins and Background, 31 Jan. 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2025).

St. Valentine’s Day is from pagan sources and the Roman Catholic Church modified it and the majority of Protestant daughter churches have embraced it, which is why some Europeans also declare it to be a day of birds mating ── as this Catholic Standard article states.

Lupercalia was associated with various Roman “love gods and goddesses,” such as Juno Februata, Eros, Cupid, Kama, and Priapus.

Notice this from the Leftist Wikipedia ──

“ … … an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. A daughter of Saturn, she is the wife of Jupiter and the mother of Mars, … As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called Regina (“Queen”) and was a member of the Capitoline Triad. … The last of her yearly festivals was that of Juno Sospita on February 1. … Hence the community invoked the protection (tutela) of the warlike Juno Sospita, “The Saviour.”

A holiday for the queen of heaven?

What does God’s living word say concerning this? ──

“ ‘... the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19) Do they provoke Me to anger?’ says the LORD. ‘Do they not provoke themselves to the shame of their own faces?’ 20) Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place - on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will BURN and not be quenched’” - Jeremiah 7:18-20.

“This says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.’ You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’

26) Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah [and might I say all the house of Israel] … ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah [or even in the house of Israel] in the land of Egypt [even spiritual Egypt], saying, ‘The Lord GOD lives.’ 27) BEHOLD, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. ... [they] shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them’” - Jeremiah 44:25-27.

Friends, whether St. Valentine’s Day was the Feast of Lupercus/ Lupercalia or a celebration of a “Queen of Heaven,” a Roman goddess named Juno, or any other pagan festival ── it is NOT listed as one of the “feasts of the LORD” – see: Leviticus 23:1-44.

This world’s modern practice of giving Valentine’s Day cards or candies, or asking someone to “Be My Valentine” appears to be directly connected from an ancient “sexual lottery.”

NO ONE who professes our Lord Jesus of Nazareth as our Savior should celebrate and observe February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day, or Lupercalia for that matter. It began as a sexual lottery and continues to have lustful connotations ── even in this 21st-century world.

Even modern scholars and historians have come to see this ── shouldn’t you as well? □

St. Valentine's Day - where did it come from!?

Greetings friends. Should Christians celebrate February 14th as St. Valentine's Day!? And, where in the world did this celebration truly come from!? Be sure to read our January 14th Letter to our Friends, in which I also mention St. Valentine's Day.

Now friends, surely school teachers, and other professional educators would know the origin of St. Valentine's Day!? Yet, most do not.

I remember in elementary school often being shamed by the teacher for not participating with the rest of the class in handing out "Be My Valentine?" Valentine's Day cards. The class was NEVER told of the real origin of Valentine's Day, nor of WHY they are observing the exchanging of the cards.

Teachers - even in this 21st century - continues to teach that Valentine's Day is about love. As does this blog site article - Valentine's Day, Teaching About Love. Teachers would surely be reprimanded or even fired if they were to speak out against Valentine's Day and teach of its true origin!

Candy makers have geared up all year to unload tons of heart-shaped boxes just for February 14th. Florists consider St. Valentine's Day the busiest time of the year.

But why!? Where truly did these customs originate!? Shouldn't we be educated as to its origin!? 

Is it Christian?

Catholic shrine to "St. Valentine" in

Dublin, Ireland (Photo by blackfish

CC BY-SA 3.0) 

The greater majority assume that the tradition of Valentine's Day celebrations is all in connection with an early Christian "saint" by the name of Valentine. Well, nothing could be further from the truth!

Notice this from History.com: " ... the Christian church [in other words, the Catholic 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 February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or Lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman."

It's sad that when you read through this article on History.com - History of Valentine's Day - written by their "editors," it reads, "others claim" as if anyone that teaches the truth of the origin of St. Valentine's Day is a heretic. 

It is a known fact that centuries before the birth of our Savior - Jesus Christ - the Romans celebrated February 15th and the evening of the 14th as an idolatrous and sexual festival in honor of the one they called Lupercus - the "hunter of wolves." The custom of the young Roman women placing their names in a big urn for the bachelors of the city certainly sounds familiar with what children all over the United States will be participating in on February 14th of this year - does it not? - the exchanging of Valentine's Day cards!? Indeed, the custom of exchanging Valentine cards from this "name drawing" is from this Lupercalia celebration.

When Emperor Constantine the Great in AD 313 made Christianity an official religion of the Roman Empire, there was talk of discarding this pagan festival. But the Roman citizens wouldn't hear of it! And, it was agreed that the festival would continue - except for the more sexual observances. And, according to CatholicSaints.Info, Pope Gelasius I "abolished the heathen festival of the Lupercalia. ..." Also, "Later, the church [meaning, the Catholic Church] attempted to give a Christian meaning to this pagan celebration. As far back as 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15th to Saint Valentine's day on February 14th." (Lavinia Dobler, Customs and Holidays Around the World, p. 172).

So, just how did this pagan festival acquire the name "St. Valentine's Day"? And, why do children continue to cut out hearts and send them to "sweethearts" on a day which truly honors Lupercus - the "hunter of wolves"!?

All of that above is part of why these pagan customs, in honor of a false god, became "Christian."

Just who was the "original" "St. Valentine"?

Now, many have mocked, laughed, and rejected this truth - indeed, Valentine was a very common name in ancient Rome. And, Roman parents would often give their children the name Valentine in honor of the first called Valentine of antiquity - Lupercus, the hunter. But, who was this Lupercus!?

Mr. Tumnus, the character in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia (a children's series of movies) is the first creature Lucy Pevensie meets in Narnia. There is no doubt that Mr. Tumnus is the Greek god Pan. Bulfinch's Mythology The Complete Texts says this about Pan:

"PAN, the god of woods, and fields, of flocks and shepherds, dwelt in grottos, wandered on the mountains and valleys, and amused himself with the chase or in leading the dances of the nymphs. He was fond of music, ... the inventor of the syrinx, or shepherd's pipe. ... Pan came to be considered a symbol of the universe and personification of Nature; and later still to be regarded as a representative of all the gods and of heathenism itself." 

Often, Pan is pictured with an erected phallus.

It goes on to say:

 "Sylvanus and Faunus were Latin divinities, whose characteristics are so nearly the same as those of Pan that we may safely consider them as the same personage under different names." 

(Bulfinch, Thomas; Bulfinch's Mythology The Complete Texts, © 1979, p. 166).

Pan was an Arcadian god of light. As such he is equivalent to the Phenician god Baal. Again going to the aforementioned source, "The Druids taught the existence of one god, to whom they gave a name 'Be' al,' which ... means 'the life of everything,' or  'the source of all beings,' and which seems to have affinity with the Phoenician Baal. ... their supreme deity, with the Sun." (Id. At 358).

So, regarding this direct connection between Lupercus and Pan, "He [Faunus], as well as Silvanus, came to be more and more identified with the Greek Pan, with whom he had many traits in common. His priests were the Luperci, his main festival the Lupercalia." (Id. At 904).

It's interesting to note that Nimrod (a king of the ancient land of Shinar, Mesopotamia) in the Bible is called "a mighty hunter before [or rather, against] the LORD" (Genesis 10:9). According to Wiktionary, the name Lupercus is perhaps a compound of lupus ("wolf") + arceō ("I ward off"), so named because of the god's role as protector of flocks from wolves. Now, also, according to Wiktionary, the word Valentine is Latin from Valentinus, meaning "I am strong, healthy."

It is true that Alexander Hislop - a Free Church of Scotland minister - wrote in his book The Two Babylons, in effect: 'Semiramis was an exceedingly beautiful woman, who gave birth to a son named Tammuz, was instrumental as the queen, and wife of Nimrod the founder of Babylon, and its religion, complete with a pseudo-Virgin birth. Later, Nimrod was killed, and Semiramis, pregnant with his child, claimed the child was Nimrod reborn.' 

All his assertions have been rejected by secular historians. 

Friends, compromising with pagan traditions is essentially one of the major areas that separate true Christians from those who just call themselves a Christian. Those in Christ's Church try to live their lives in accordance with the Law of Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ. God's holy days do not compromise with pagan holidays! And, just because many people use the name Christ and call themselves Christian does not mean that they are faithful to Jesus Christ. Notice what Jesus teaches:

"'Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom [from] heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" - Matthew 7:21-23; NKJV.

Jesus did not observe St. Valentine's Day, or anything even close to it!

St. Valentine's Day - or Valentine's Day as it's called on the Gregorian calendar - is not a God-ordained holiday.

It originated from lawlessness and does NOT edify the Holy One of Israel - Jesus Christ! Some twenty years ago, the incorrectly named Christianity Today wrote:

"There are more tales of the 'origins' of Valentine's Day than arrows in Cupid's quiver. As expected, most have something to do with pagan ritual (pretty much every holiday - from Christmas to Mother's Day - has something to do with pagan ritual). Four centuries before Christ, Romans had a day called Lupercalia. Without going too much into it, I'll sum it up as a sexual lottery. Pull names out of a box at random and couple with a young member of the opposite sex. After a year, you get to pick another name."

(Olsen, Ted; Then Again Maybe Don't Be My Valentine; February 1, 2000; Retrieved 10 February 2020).

Yet, shame on them! Despite knowing that much of the truth, they continue to write articles that promote Valentine's Day as "embracing," "loving," and "leads to the Resurrection"! Such as this article from 2017.

Friends, NONE WHO PROFESS CHRIST should observe this February 14th "holiday" - it is NOT a Christian holy day. It truly began as a "sexual lottery." □


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