Originally a Chistian feast day to honour the martyr Saint Valentine, it’s long been taken over by folk tradition to become a day of love.
What we now know as Valentine’s Day started in 15th-century France where the occasion was marked with singing and dancing.
The now-familiar custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates started in the UK, with the first pre-printed cards being sold in the late 18th century.
It wasn't until the 20th century that Valentine’s Day became a major commercial event – notably when the Hallmark greetings card company started mass-producing cards in 1913.
Here are 21 pictures of how Valentine’s Day has been celebrated in Scotland in years past.
The now-familiar custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates started in the UK, with the first pre-printed cards being sold in the late 18th century.
![Staff and customers at Johnston and Scott flower merchants, in Glasgow, prepare flowers for delivery to florists in time for Valentines Day 2015.](https://www.scotsman.com/webimg/b25lY21zOmE5NmI1NmE4LTY5YTItNDRjZC05MjgzLWFhODNiNWY2ZmVlZjo0ZDcxNjg0Yi00Yzc3LTQ2MWMtODY4MC0wNzU4MjZiYzZlOWU=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=640)
21. Boxing clever
Staff and customers at Johnston and Scott flower merchants, in Glasgow, prepare flowers for delivery to florists in time for Valentines Day 2015. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell