Until you become a writer you never realize in how many ways our language is quirky, like with Valentines Day AP Style *. Sometimes, it’s our (English – American) own fault. Bizarre word combination or letters that are silent sometimes but not others, and don’t even get me started on how many sounds ‘c’ can make, and while every one of them could be created by ‘k’ or ‘s’. It’s enough to set a writer off on a rant, but I will resist… I mean starting now, of course. Time to pull out the AP Stylebook from our friends at Associated Press.
How To Spell Valentines Day Correctly
Some AP Style rules exist because they made printing easier back in the day. Other AP Stylebook reviews are nothing more than good grammar. For the most part as we dig into AP Style Valentine’s Day action it’s the latter.
Valentine’s Day Proper Noun
Valentine’s Day is a proper noun in more way that one. First, Valentine’s is a possessive of a name. Just who Saint Valentine was is in some dispute, but the version that fits the holiday’s traditions and customs best is the story of a saint who sent a letter to his jailer’s daughter whom he had “befriended” and healed her blindness. He signed a letter he sent to her, “From your Valentine.” — Oh yeah. We’re going with that version. — Regardless, whomever Valentine’s Day is named after, it was a person who had a name, and that name was Saint Valentine who was martyred (killed but the people who are still alive think is particularly inspiring) after sending the letter.
Anyway…
Saint Valentine has a day name for him. It is his day, so to speak, so both AP Style and proper grammar dictate that it be Valentine’s Day.
Now, if you are good at grammar, you might be wondering shouldn’t it be Valentine’s day?
That’s a good question but remember that this is a proper noun twice. It is the proper name of Valentine, and it is also the proper name of a holiday, like Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, and President’s Day. So, capitalize both words for the win.
Valentines the Cards
Now, we come to valentines, the little cards you and your kids exchanged in grade school, as well as the overpriced Hallmark cards that you must buy until you and your partner are both cynical enough, and have been together long enough, that you make the wise decision to do something else with the $15 instead of buying cards. (Don’t get me started on flowers.)
Valentines, while ostensibly named after the holiday or the man, are his, like the day do not belong to St. Valentine the way the day does. — The one he sent from jail centuries ago notwithstanding.
So, the cards, whether sweet and innocent, or robbery and blackmail, are lower case, as in valentines. Now, if you add the word card, the lower case still applies. The spouse gave the spouse a valentine card for Valentine’s Day, and their kids too candy filled valentines to school. Note the only way to get an ‘s’ on the end of valentine is to have multiple of them. This is all standard grammar as much as it is AP Stylebook rules.
What about asking, “Will you be my valentine?” — Still lower case. No possessive. Technically what you are asking here, is will you be my version of the third century saint who was martyred? But, not literally, because you mean a person who is coupled with you on a specific day, or for some number of days on out, depending upon your relationship, so lower case there as well.
One more hiccup. If the person you have designated as your valentine has ownership of something, then (and only then) do you add the apostrophe. My valentine’s cat got cat hair all over me.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and all your valentines.
Choose your own Valentine’s Day story at Britannica (they did encyclopedias before there was Wikipedia)
*I did it wrong on purpose for the SEO.
Fin