DC Valentine's Day Guide

This Valentine's Day take your sweetheart on a magical date that will always be remembered. Begin with a stroll down Constitution Avenue and admire what we call the French Heart of Washington. "Washington est une ville de l'amour." Step into a gallery and explore different mediums: paint, marble sculpture, steel, play-doh, bubblegum? Like love, Art is full with the unknown. When your partner's intellectual curiosity is sated take a short journey to relax on the banks of the majestic Potomac. Some accounts say the name means "the river to which wealth is brought". Admire the reflections of a grand arched bridge. "L'amour peut construire un pont entre le coeur." Warm the winter chill from your loved one's hands and stimulate romantic thoughts. "Que recherchez-vous dans un compagnon d'ame?" The chemistry of love has hunger and thirst. A short cab ride and your intimately dining in a chic, elegant restaurant with a distant European air. Warm candlelight, eyes locked in attraction, savoring great food, delicious wine, and desserts carefully shaped as hearts. These are powerful aphrodisiacs. Our Valentine's Day guide will help you find tasteful ideas and unique Valentine's Day gifts that will enhance your relationship and bring you true Love. There may be a temptation of sensual greediness.

Understanding the Basics

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is a holiday on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards, donating to charity or gifting candy. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

Start your romance with the perfect valentine idea. Send a romantic message in a bottle. Surprise your loved one with a bed of roses spread around the sheets. Imagine giving a wood crafted Valentine Treasure Chest filled with items of affection. Looking for a good flower delivery store or a bakery that will make the best impression? Decorate your table with a set of long stem rose candles.
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Romantic Locations - Perfect Date Spots for Valentine's Day

A perfect date location for your loved one is easy to find. Review our list of top romantic locations in Washington to celebrate Valentine's Day. From a secret lovers view on top an overlook observation deck of the 315-foot granite clock tower to a romantic walk through the beautiful US Botanical Garden. Make sure this year is one to remember by visiting one of our top date locations this year for Valentine's Day.
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Romanic Dining - Top Restaurants For Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is approaching faster than a runaway "love train", and you haven't got a clue where to eat. Relax the Washington Metro area restaurant scene is booming with a plethora of eclectic restaurants from the hottest and trendiest to the downright homey. Our local chefs cannot resist the inexorable celebration of this special day of love.
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Romantic Stories - Fascinating History and Tales about Valentine's Day

The greatest love stories are those that capture the romantic progression of love between two people. Stories written for only for lovers eyes. Once you start reading you cannot stop. They have the power to make you laugh, cry and feel inspired. Our staff have reviewed stories that will inspire you to pull off a perfect, romantic evening.
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Valentine Facts - Interesting Facts About Valentine's Day

Ever wonder how many Valentine's Day cards are given on February 14th? Who do you think receives the most Valentine Day cards? Everywhere you look there are hearts all around. What percentage of Americans celebrate Valentine's Day? Find out all these answers and interesting Valentine's Day trivia in our Valentine's Day Facts section.
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Valentine's Day Photo Galleries

Images help us remember special days and events. Come along on our journey as we capture memorable times and places in our Photo Galleries.

Valentine's Day Event Calendar

Looking for somewhere to take your special valentine? Find out Valentine's Day specials and other great events in the Washington DC area by visiting our Valentine's Day Events Calendar.

History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February -- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".