Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day?

There's more than one way to enjoy Valentine's Day in your locality. From a lovely meal at a local restaurant to gift shopping or a visit to a romantic hotspot, your town has everything you need to celebrate this Valentine's Day in style. 

But first, a little bit on why we do all of this in the first place...

Who was St. Valentine and why do we celebrate February the 14th?

Despite some confusion surrounding his true identity, it's generally accepted that St. Valentine was an actual person who lived in Italy during Roman times and died in A.D. 270. However, the St. Valentine we celebrate today might be a mixture of two different people, owing to the fact that accounts of his life differ — some claim that he was a temple priest and others claim he was a bishop.

What we do know for sure is that St. Valentine was a clergyman who was executed for his efforts to help persecuted Christians. He was martyred by the Roman Catholic Church, and February 14th (the day he was buried) became a feast day in the Catholic calendar from the year 469 onwards.

Ties to Ireland and an ancient poem

Since then, he's been the patron saint of beekeepers, epilepsy, fainting, travelling — as well as fiancees and married couples, of course. Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin houses St. Valentine's relics, including some of his remains, which were donated to the church in the 1830s by Pope Gregory XVI.

But Valentine's Day's romantic associations don't seem to have their roots in the feast day of an ancient priest. In fact, February 14th's connection to love was created by medieval poet, Geoffrey Chaucer. It was only after his poem 'Parliament of Foules' became well-known (way back in the late 1300s) that people started to celebrate love on February 14th. 

All of that ancient history aside, head over to your