Turning Trend into Tradition: How Public Relations Made the World Fall in Love with Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is here, and excitement over candy grams, heart-patterned merchandise and picture-perfect picnics is simmering for both the singles and the taken. But do you ever stop to wonder why a baby armed with arrows is the holiday mascot? Or why the mere thought of Feb. 14 conjures the chalky taste of conversation hearts? And why a holiday specifically honoring romance has become saturated with “Galentine’s” celebrations?

It all comes down to just one thing — or rather, two letters: PR. Just as every box of chocolates is made up of a dozen different flavors, the Valentine’s Day we know and love is shaped by centuries of different campaigns. Let’s dive into the holiday’s most iconic elements and explore how public relations helped cement them into tradition.

The History of Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day dates back more than 2,500 years to the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, celebrated on Feb. 15. Then, in 268 A.D., along came St. Valentine — or so the legend goes. When Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men to create stronger soldiers, Valentine, a Roman priest, continued to marry couples and was executed for it. Over time, Lupercalia transformed into a Christian feast day. 

It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that poems associated the holiday with romance. Back then, Valentine’s notes to loved ones were occasional, simple, private and definitely not massively celebrated. That’s how Valentine’s Day remained. Well, until the 1800s. 

Rome (753 BCE): Cupid   

We start with perhaps the most perplexing question of Valentine’s Day: Why does a baby shoot arrows into hearts every February? Who even entrusted a baby with a bow and arrow? 

There was a time when Cupid wasn't a baby at all. He was Eros, a chaotic, violent figure in Greek mythology. Depicted as an older teen, Eros tortured people by manipulating them with love. He was a heartthrob, not a matchmaker. When the Roman era began, Eros was subject to an effective push of ancient PR. Seen as too powerful for comfort, he was rebranded to seem more approachable. He became Cupid, which, like Eros, meant desire. The Romans believed that portraying him as controlled by a female figure would limit his perceived power, so Cupid received the de-aging treatment of the millennium, becoming the cherubic, dutiful son of Aphrodite. It worked. For centuries, Cupid continued to be depicted as a young child, promoting love in both stories and paintings. 

When Hallmark began making cards in 1910, the creators needed a mascot to add to their designs. Cupid was the perfect candidate. They diapered the child and de-aged him even further, giving way to the baby that covers Valentine’s Day imagery now. He was systematically deployed in Hallmark cards, advertisements and seasonal visuals as part of a coordinated PR strategy to establish a consistent, marketable image.

Today, thanks to centuries of strategic PR, Cupid is the universal face of Valentine’s Day, remembered as a magical baby rather than the fearsome god he once was. 

Esther Howland (1840s): Valentine's Day Cards

By the 1800s, Valentine’s cards existed, but they were handwritten, not widely popular and mostly limited to the elite. No one expected a card on Valentine’s Day. But when Esther Howland, known as the mother of Valentine’s Day, received a Valentine’s card her father brought home from a business trip to England, she had the idea to sell ornate lace valentines in America. 

She began by partnering with her brother’s business, convincing him to take her cards on sales calls. Howland was hoping for $200 in orders. Her brother came back with orders for $5,000 worth of cards.

Howland had struck gold, but she needed to spread her message. She established the New England Valentine Company and created an assembly line of card makers. Howland focused on expanding her audience and reach. She provided her vendors with a book of 131 different verses that could be inserted within the cards and developed versions for all budgets, from 5 cents to $50. She relied on word of mouth, or earned media, to influence public perception and build demand. People began anticipating Valentine’s cards, and her annual revenue grew to about $3 million in today’s currency.

Thanks to Howland, who colloquially adopted the holiday, purchasing Valentine’s cards became solidified as a core tradition of the holiday.

Cadbury (1861): Box of Chocolates 

While cards may have become expected on Valentine’s Day, chocolate was far from it. In fact, in the mid-1800s, chocolate was mostly a drink or medicine. But in 1861, Richard Cadbury sought to find a way to popularize his new, better-tasting drinking chocolate. He also wanted to make use of the excess cocoa butter, which Cadbury used to produce “eating chocolate.” 

Cadbury was aware of the average Victorian’s affinity for ornamentation, so he designed heart-shaped boxes with sentimental scenes. After finishing the chocolate, the boxes could be kept to hold other beloved objects. Cadbury framed the product as a way to spread and preserve love, establishing Cadbury’s brand image of generosity, kindness and bringing people closer together, a message that persists as the company’s core identity today. 

This strategic PR campaign spread worldwide: Baker, Ghirardelli, Whitman’s, Schrafft’s and Russell Stover also began using the box and the holiday to sell their eating chocolate. The gift of chocolate became associated with a gift of affection, and along with the heart-shaped chocolate box, Valentine’s chocolate still remains a staple nearly 200 years later.

Oliver and Daniel Chase (1866-1902): Sweethearts

As society swooned for cards and chocolates, lozenges, a common remedy for sore throats and bad breath, were growing in popularity (yet another candy that once was once considered medicinal). Boston pharmacist Oliver Chase invented a revolutionary machine to press the candies, simplifying the complicated and time-consuming process of making lozenges. But while Oliver had found success through production, his brother Daniel had a different strategy in mind. 

Inspired by the growing market for Valentine’s cards, Daniel developed a strategic PR approach: printing Valentine’s greetings directly on candy to engage consumers and spread playful, shareable messages. He generated cheeky phrases like “HOW LONG SHALL I HAVE TO WAIT? PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE,” taking a humorous approach to Valentine’s Day. But for the messages to travel, the candy had to travel, too — similarly to modern forms of shared media.

The campaign stuck, and the original large wafers evolved into the candy hearts that continue to speak to us today. It was this strategy that popularized candy as another symbol of the holiday, and it continued the shift that led Valentine's Day to lose its strict formality. 

Hallmark (1910): Valentine’s Day for Everyone 

Until the early 1900s, Valentine’s Day was strictly for romancers, sweethearts and couples. When Hallmark opened in 1910, its first products were Valentine’s postcards. But the company wanted to expand its reach beyond the audience Esther Howland had already built. 

Through partnerships with retailers and designers, Hallmark championed the idea that Valentine’s Day was about connection and relationships in all forms. Its seasonal campaigns released Valentine’s cards labeled “for Mom” or “for a great friend.” The act of giving something to teachers and classmates on Valentine's Day had already begun to appear in schools through lessons of etiquette and generosity, but Hallmark saw a larger opportunity. 

Hallmark collaborated with candy companies and popular children’s comics like Yellow Kid, to popularize valentines among children. They earned media placements describing kids’ Valentine’s Day parties at school or running stories like “Will the Valentine survive?” Today, Valentine’s Day is observed by nearly everyone, and it’s one of the only days elementary schools collectively take time out of teaching to celebrate. 

Parks & Recreation (2010s): Galentine’s Day

Valentine’s walked so Galentine’s could run. It’s hard to miss Galentine’s promotions today, aimed at female friendship rather than romance. Yet the idea of celebrating Valentine’s Day without a partner was nearly unheard of until about 15 years ago. 

In 2010, NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” protagonist Leslie Knope said in an episode, “What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, Leslie Knope and her lady friends leave their husbands and their boyfriends at home and just kick it breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus, frittatas!” And with that, Galentine’s Day was born. 

Lifestyle brands spotted the organic buzz and PR opportunity around the episode’s joke and quickly leveraged it. Target decorated its stores and blogs with Galentine’s themes. Kate Spade hosted Galentine’s brunch events with influencers. Urban Outfitters released Galentine’s collections, and restaurants and fitness studios pitched their Galentine’s events to local press. 

Hallmark fittingly began making cards for the holiday. Soon, even those who had never heard of “Parks and Recreation” had heard of Galentine’s Day. A gender-neutral spin, Palentine's Day, also emerged. Top retailers today, including Amazon and Walmart, have made Galentine’s products, events and campaigns a yearly tradition. Galentine’s has over half a million social media posts, and a 2025 survey by The Food Institute found that 25% of consumers plan to celebrate this spin on the classic holiday — all because a viral media moment made it stick and because of the PR professionals who jumped on the opportunity. 

Many myths circulate the topic of Valentine’s Day, but one of the biggest is that it’s a holiday built on consumerism. In actuality, it’s a legend turned into expressions of love and molded into tradition by dedicated campaigns. It wasn’t about marketing a product. It was about rebranding, expanding audiences, sharing a message and creatively finding new ways to celebrate. That’s PR at its finest. 

Valentine’s Day is a testament to how dedication to a brand message and thoughtful public relations can shape cultural events. So, as you text your friends about your upcoming Galentine’s Day get-together, watch kids sign each cliche yet nostalgic card for their classmates or resist the urge to eat an entire box of chocolates on your own, remember that Valentine’s is not only made up of a love for each other, but also the love individuals poured into their work, turning hearts into headlines and ideas into customs. 

From our team at Alpha PR to you, happy Valentine’s Day. Now, back to your yearly rom-com marathon.