The “first Valentine’s Day” is usually dated to the year 496 AD, when Pope Gelasius I declared 14 February as the feast day of St Valentine in the Christian calendar.

Quick Scoop: Origins in One Glance

  • Around 496 AD: Pope Gelasius I officially establishes 14 February as St Valentine’s feast day – this is what many sources treat as the first Valentine’s Day.
  • Earlier roots: The date and some customs are often linked to the older Roman fertility festival Lupercalia , held 13–15 February in ancient Rome.
  • Middle Ages: By the 14th–15th centuries, Valentine’s Day becomes associated with romantic love , especially after Geoffrey Chaucer links St Valentine’s Day with love in his poem Parlement of Foules.
  • 1415: Charles, Duke of Orléans, writes one of the earliest surviving Valentine messages to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Was 496 AD Really “The First Valentine’s Day”?

Historians point out that 496 AD marks the first known official Christian celebration of St Valentine on 14 February, which is why many educational sources state that “the first Valentine’s Day was in the year 496 AD.”

However, the spirit of the date likely draws on older customs, especially Lupercalia, a Roman festival that involved fertility rites and pairing rituals that took place around mid‑February.

So, if you’re answering in a simple, modern sense—“When was the first Valentine’s Day?”—the best short answer is: 496 AD , with deeper roots in earlier Roman traditions.

TL;DR:
Most historians and popular sources say the first Valentine’s Day was celebrated as a Christian feast on 14 February 496 AD , building on older mid‑February Roman festivals like Lupercalia.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.