History of Valentine’s Day

Every February 14 in many places around the world,candy,flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England. The day of romance we call Valentine's Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century, but has origins in the Roman holiday Lupercalia. The history of Valentine’s Day and the history of its patron saint is shrouded in mystery.We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St.Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine,and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Approximately 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second most popular card sending holiday after Christmas.Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody - and a bit muddled.

A drawing depicts the death of St. Valentine - one of them, anyway. The Romans executed two men by that name on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.Those Wild And Crazy Romans.From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia. Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said: "The men who have been born in the United States, Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile. The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival - or longer, if the match was right.The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men - both named Valentine - on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, "It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes on it. That did not stop it from being a day of fertility and love." Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin's Day. Galatin meant "lover of women." That was likely confused with St. Valentine's Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.Enlarge this image,William Shakespeare helped romanticize Valentine's Day in his work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe.

Perry-Castañeda Library, University of Texas.

Shakespeare In Love. The years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages.Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has been the same since.Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research firm IBIS World, Valentine's Day sales reached $ 17.6 billion last year; This year's sales are expected to total $ 18.6 billion.But that commercialization has spoiled the day for many. Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, says we have only ourselves to blame. "This is not a command performance," she says. "If people did not want to buy Hallmark cards, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of business."

And so the celebration of Valentine's Day goes on, in varied ways. Many will break the bank buying jewelry and flowers for their beloveds. Others will celebrate in SAD (that's Single Awareness Day), dining alone and binging on self-gifted chocolates. A few may even spend this day the same way the early Romans did. But let's not go there.