Valentine's Day: From Ancient Rituals to Modern Romance and Capitalism

• Valentine's Day, now a celebration of romance, has a complex history rooted in ancient rituals, sacrifices, and control systems, not initially romantic love.
• The holiday's origins trace back to the Roman festival Lupercalia, a rowdy fertility ritual involving animal sacrifice and striking women to promote well-being.
• Its association with romantic love emerged centuries later, primarily through medieval poets like Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, linking it to courtship.
• Modern Valentine's Day is influenced by capitalism and media, turning intimacy into a marketable performance, with historical parallels to societal control over bodies and desires.
• The holiday often amplifies emotional labor imbalances, particularly for women, and historically sidelined non-heteronormative or platonic forms of love, highlighting its constructed nature.