Seasonal · countdown to 14 February
Valentine Clock
Hearts rising through a deep rose glow, with a live countdown to Valentine's Day and the current time underneath.
Until Valentine's Day
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Press F for full screen. Motion pauses automatically if your system asks for reduced motion.
14 February
How the Date Got Its Reputation
A Saint, and Not Much Detail
Saint Valentine was a third-century Roman martyr, and the historical record about him is thin enough that the Church removed his feast from the general calendar in 1969. The romantic associations came far later than the man.
Chaucer, Probably
The earliest clear link between the date and courtship appears in Geoffrey Chaucer's fourteenth-century poem Parliament of Fowls, which describes birds choosing their mates on Saint Valentine's day. Whether he was recording a custom or inventing one is still argued.
Cards Came with the Post
Handwritten valentines existed earlier, but the volume arrived with cheap printing and the penny post in the nineteenth century. The modern card industry is essentially a Victorian invention.
Not Universal
Many countries mark affection on other dates entirely — Brazil in June, and several East Asian countries with a series of related days across the year. The 14 February version is widespread rather than global.
Under the hood
How This Scene Is Built
Up to forty hearts rise on individual paths with their own size, drift, speed and opacity, over a rose glow that pulses slowly on a four-and-a-half second cycle.
The countdown targets midnight at the start of 14 February in your own time zone. For a dinner reservation at a specific hour, set the exact date and time on the countdown page and share the link.
Answers
Valentine Background Questions
What time does the countdown reach zero?
Midnight at the start of 14 February, in your own time zone. For a specific hour on the day, use the custom countdown.
Who was Saint Valentine?
A third-century Roman martyr about whom very little is reliably known — so little that his feast was removed from the general Roman calendar in 1969. The romantic associations attached to the date centuries after his death.
Where does the romantic connection come from?
The earliest clear link is Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls in the fourteenth century, which describes birds choosing mates on the day. Historians still disagree over whether he was describing an existing custom or starting one.
Is the date observed everywhere?
No. Brazil marks Dia dos Namorados in June, and several East Asian countries observe a sequence of related days through the year. February the fourteenth is common but not universal.
What happens after the day passes?
The countdown rolls forward to next year automatically, so the page never shows a finished countdown.