Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day today?
The origin of the day to celebrate "Love" dates back to the Goddess, Juno. Juno was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counsellor of the state. She was equated to Hera, queen of the gods in Greek mythology and a goddess of love and marriage.
The original Cupid was more of a heartthrob than a cherub. Traced back to 700 BC, this character of legend was called Eros, Martin explains: the Greek word for desire. In the Archaic period, 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, as he would use his power to make people fall in love.
Valentine's Day ultimately transformed into a holiday about romantic love, possibly thanks to the Romantic English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. The Times notes that Jack B. Oruch, a late University of Kansas English professor, made strong arguments to credit Chaucer with our modern ideas about Valentine's Day. He asserted in his research, that there wasn't any significant written record linking romantic tradition to St. Valentine's Day until Chaucer wrote his 14th-century works "The Parlement of Foules" and "The Complaint of Mars." The former of which is a poem about birds choosing their mates on "Seynt Valentynes day." William Shakespeare has also been credited with popularizing this romantic holiday. In the mid-18th century, it was commonplace for friends and lovers to exchange small tokens and notes on Valentine's Day. In 19th century, the industrial revolution began to print Valentine's Day cards.
And, in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Missouri, began mass-producing valentines, and the world hasn't been the same since.