Episode 21: The Bloody Origins of Valentine’s Day

Was Valentine’s Day a Roman holiday? A celebration of executions? Or about birds getting it on? Find out with me! SOURCES: Bitel, Lisa. “The Gory Origins of Valentine’s Day” The Smithsonian Magazine, Feb 14, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gory-origins-valentines-day-180968156/ The Conversasion. Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Butler, Stephanie. “How Chocolate Became a Valentine’s Day Staple.” History, Jan 4, 2021. https://www.history.com/news/valentines-day-chocolate-box-history-cadbury A&E Productions. Accessed Feb 7, 2023. Britannica Editors. “Valentine’s Day” Britannica, Feb 2, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Combs, Sydney. “Valentine’s Day wasn’t always about Love” National Geographic, Feb 5, 2022. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/saint-st-valentines-day Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Gershon, Livia. “Who was the Real St. Valentine? The Many Myths behind the Inspiration for Valentine’s day” History, Feb 8, 2022. https://www.history.com/news/real-st-valentine-medieval A&E Television Networks. Accessed Feb 5, 2023. History Editors. “History of Valentine’s Day” History, Feb 2, 2023. https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2 A&E Television Networks. Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Koehler, Jeff. “How Chocolate Became a Sweet (But not so Innocent) Concort to Valentine’s Day” NPR, Feb 14, 2017. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/14/514565105/chocolate-love-s-sweet-but-not-necessarily-innocent-consort The Salt: What’s on Your Plate. Accessed Feb 7, 2023. Seipel, April. “The dark origins of Valentine’s Day” NPR, Feb 14, 2022 https://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Stack, Liam. “Valentine’s Day: Did It Start as a Roman Party or to Celebrate an Execution?” The New York Times, Feb 14, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/style/valentines-day-facts-history.html Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Summers, Keyonna. “The Hidden History of Valentine’s Day” University of Nevada, Feb 5, 2020. https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/hidden-history-valentines-day Accessed Feb 5, 2023. Vukovic, Kresimir. “Friends, Romans, Naked-Wolf Men…why an ancient festival is still controversial” The Guardian, Feb 15, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/15/wolves-nudity-mayhem-why-an-ancient-roman-festival-is-still-controversial Accessed Feb 7, 2023