Is Valentine's Day spelled with an apostrophe or not?

Answer 1

It all depends on what you're referring to. It can have an apostrophe, but it doesn't have to. And to further complicate the matter, the apostrophe can be before the final s, or after! Again, it all depends on what you're referring to.

Because the word valentine has a legitimate meaning of "sweetheart", then if you're writing about all the sweethearts in the world, then you would say, "all the valentines in the world" (no apostrophe). [By the way, the word valentine can also refer to a card received, and therefore you might say you received 25 valentines, (plural but no apostrophe), meaning you received 25 cards. In this case, it would be redundant to say you received 25 valentines (noun) cards (noun). But in that case, you might describe the cards as being of the valentine type, so you might say you received 25 valentine (adjective) cards (noun).]

If you're writing about your one and only sweetheart, then you would say, "your valentine" (no s, and no apostrophe). And if you wanted to make a day to celebrate your valentine, you would call it your Valentine's Day (apostrophe before the s). But keep in mind, that day would belong only to ONE (singular) valentine. So whenever you see the term Valentine's Day, know that it is referring to one and only one Valentine--not both Mr. Valentine AND your valentine. [This is why St. Patrick's Day is never spelled St. Patricks' Day--because the word "Patrick" does not refer to a sweetheart or a card; hence, the day can only refer to the man, Mr. Patrick.]

If you wanted to make a day that belonged to all other sweethearts in the world (plural possessive), then you would call it Valentines' Day (begin with the plural word valentines, and then add the apostrophe to show possession to the plural word). [That's why the day to celebrate all the mothers is spelled "Mothers' Day", not "Mother's Day." But if you had a special day set aside just for your own mother, then by all means, call it Mother's Day.]

Now your question asked about the term valentines, not the holiday in February. As far as the holiday, IF you are celebrating the man Mr. Valentine, and NOTHING MORE, than you must spell it "Valentine's Day." And to be even clearer, you should specify that it is "St. Valentine's Day." But IF you and your friends are having a celebration for each of your valentines, then you need to call it "Valentines' Day." [And that can even include St. Valentine, too.]

The rules for the apostrophe are straightforward and clear. Decide whether or not your initial term should be singular or plural. Then place the apostrophe. The confusion comes in because some words are singular and end in an s (like Moses), while some words are plural and don't end in an s (like oxen or children).

Now that you know the rules, what about Columbus Day? The question we need to ask is, "Does the holiday belong to Columbus?" If it's his day, then we need to add the apostrophe like this: "Columbus' Day." But if the holiday is simply a day in honor of him (no possession, just a memorial), then it can be called "Columbus Day", which is just a day that's been nicknamed "Columbus Day," no different than the day nicknamed "Labor Day", or "Boxing Day," or "Martin Luther King Day" or "Happy Day." You only add the apostrophe to indicate POSSESSION (or for a contraction, as in the word "it's.")

And one last comment. When you pronounce a word that ends in an s with an apostrophe after the s, like "Valentines' Day," please do everyone a favor and do NOT pronounce an additional syllable for the apostrophe! It's not pronounced "Valentineses" (4 syllables)! The only time you would pronounce a double s like that would be if the word ended in an s sound without using the letter s, like "Jace." If it were "Jace's Day," then you would pronounce it "Jaces" (2 syllables).

Answer 2

Yes, it is. It is Saint Valentine's feast day. The same with Saint Patrick's Day, Saint Andrew's Day, Saint David's day.

Answer 3

Yup, you write in:

Happy Valentine's Day.

See where the apostrophe is?? That's where you put it when you write out happy valentine's day! :)