NPR has an article up linking Valentine's Day to Lupercalia and how it might have been a catalyst for Valentine's Day. They also give more proof: Pope Gelasius I apparently merged both holidays to purge paganism.
How accurate are these claims? What is the connection between Valentine's Day and Lupercalia?
Its almost assuredly not true, and from what I can tell Prof. Noel Lenski, who is quoted in basically every article conflating Lupercalia and Valentine's Day, has not published any research or sources into his claim that Gelasius I explicitly merged the holidays to combat paganism. In fact, the common notion that matchmaking was a part of the ceremony is a myth resulting from a practice that was dated to the Middle Ages, long past the days of Lupercalia. Additionally, Prof. Jack B. Oruch, who actually has published scholarly articles on the topic, finds little evidence for any sort of association between Valentines Day and love/ fertility until Chaucer, making the merger of the two holidays even more of a suspect analysis. Sadly, it doesn't stop pop historians and uncritical news sources from repeating the claim every year.