From Ritual to Romance: A Valentine’s Perspective

Valentine’s Day, as it is known today, is the result of centuries of layered tradition shaped largely within Christian and later European cultural contexts. Its name is most often linked to Saint Valentine, an early Christian figure about whom little is definitively known. Over time, stories associated with his martyrdom came to symbolise devotion, conscience, and personal conviction. By the late medieval period, the feast day of Saint Valentine had become associated with courtly love, poetry, and the expression of romantic attachment.

In the ancient world, significant moments were marked through shared meals and shared drink. Wine, mead, and beer functioned as symbols of hospitality and ritual, accompanying rites of passage and seasonal change. These occasions stood apart from ordinary life, much as Valentine’s Day later became a moment set aside for connection.

Distillation developed later as a technological and scientific advancement. Techniques for distilling liquids were refined in the Islamic world between the eighth and tenth centuries, particularly through the work of scholars who used distillation for perfume, medicine, and alchemy. This knowledge gradually spread into Europe, where distilled alcohol became known as aqua vitae, or water of life, and was initially produced by monks and apothecaries.

Early distilled spirits were used primarily for medicinal purposes. They were believed to preserve health, extract botanical compounds, and stabilise remedies. As distillation methods improved, spirits became more consistent and more widely available. By the late medieval period, they began to appear beyond medical contexts and into social and domestic use, often reserved for special occasions due to the labour and skill involved in their production.

By the time Valentine’s Day had become established as a celebration of romantic connection, distilled spirits were already associated with intention and significance. Their production required time, precision, and restraint, and their use was deliberate rather than casual. This historical context gives modern Valentine’s Day rituals a deeper grounding, linking the celebration not only to emotion and symbolism, but also to centuries of shared knowledge, craft, and cultural exchange.