Lupercalia is the ancient Roman festival sometimes considered a precursor to Valentine’s Day.
Lupercalia was observed in Rome from February 13 to 15 and involved purification rites connected with health, fertility, and the protection of the city. Priests known as the Luperci traditionally sacrificed goats and a dog, then used strips of the hides in ritual activities. The festival was associated with Faunus, a Roman god linked with the countryside and fertility.
The popular claim that young Roman men drew women’s names from a jar at Lupercalia is not supported by ancient evidence. That story appeared much later in antiquarian explanations of Valentine’s Day and helped create a neat—but uncertain—link between the Roman festival and romantic pairing.
Valentine’s Day’s romantic meaning is more securely connected with medieval literature. Geoffrey Chaucer’s 1382 poem Parliament of Fowls is often cited as the first recorded association between Saint Valentine’s Day and romantic love. The direct historical connection to Lupercalia remains debated.