This special day has its roots in ancient Rome, when many crimes took place during celebrations in honor of the fertility god Lupercus. To put an end to all this, Pope Gelasius established the celebration of Valentine’s Day in 496 AD.
Valentine was a Christian bishop who died for refusing to embrace paganism. Legend has it that during his imprisonment, Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of the prison warden, who, thanks to the prayers of the saint, received her sight: the last message addressed to his beloved contained the words “From your Valentine”.
Every country has its own customs and traditions in honor of this holiday, so let’s take a look at how this day is celebrated in Spain.
In Spain, customs and traditions are quite common: love letters, flowers and romantic dinners.
However, for example, Catalonia has an exception: here Valentine’s Day is celebrated on April 23. The Spanish region with its capital in Barcelona has been celebrating the day since 1094 Sant Jordi (St. George). According to legend, Sant Jordi saved a princess from the clutches of a dragon by cutting off the head of this terrible beast and, later, a rose was born from the blood. For this reason, according to Catalan tradition, men give a rose to women, who in turn give a book to their lovers, and on this day, by decision of UNESCO, World Book Day has been celebrated since 1995.