A Cheesemonger's Historical Insights into Valentine's Day

As a cheesemonger deeply rooted in the nuances of dairy's past, I find joy in sharing the historical slices of holidays like Valentine's Day. Despite the debate among historians, it's the Roman festival of Lupercalia that often gets credited with the birth of a holiday of match-making—even if the direct links to our modern Valentine's Day are tenuous.
February 14 was stamped by Pope Gelasius as St. Valentine's Day, which eventually transitioned into celebrating romantic love, but not as an immediate effect of Gelasius's actions. The poetic circles of Geoffrey Chaucer did equate this time with love, framed by the seasonal pairings of birds; his writing did not specifically connect this to Valentine's Day, but his influence on romantic concepts endures.
The Victorian era saw the commercialization and the familiar exchange of tokens of affections, like cards and flowers, though cheese wasn't specifically noted as a traditional Valentine's gift. Despite historical discrepancies, cultivating an array of flavorful fromages can be a deliciously modern way to honor love's past.
This Valentine's Day, each slice of cheese can be a nod to these traditions—mundane details debated by scholars, but enlivened by each shared Camembert and savored Gorgonzola.