Saint Valentine's Day , commonly shortened to Valentine's Day , is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affectionbetween intimate companions.The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius Iin 500 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, but its religious observance is still permitted. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as " valentines "). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.