Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day - February 14th - is one of the most popular festivals of the Western calendar. It is a time for romance, for lovers everywhere to declare their affection - often anonymously.

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It's also of huge commercial importance. Many people buy cards, gifts, flowers and/or candy for their loved one - chocolate is a great favourite, as are roses. It's been estimated that around one billion Valetine's Day cards are exchanged each year. Men are also huge flower buyers, with Feb 14 accounting for almost a third of US florists' annual sales.

The main symbols of Valentine are, of course, hearts, flowers and Cupid.

Origin

Where exactly did Valentine's day and its association with romance originate? We all know that it is connected with Saint Valentine, the Christian saint. However it's not clear why this should have become a day of love.

There are many legends surrounding Valentine. One of the most popular says that he was a priest at the time of the Emperor Claudius. When Claudius forbade marriage, Valentine married couples in secret. He was eventually discovered and beheaded. It's a great story, but all we know for sure is that Valentine was a Christian martyr.

Many Christian holidays superceded earlier similar festivals, often of pagan origin. So could the traditions of Valentine date back further than Christianity? Probably. However the origins are much disputed and no-one knows for sure. The most common suggestion is a connection with the Roman Lupercalia.

Lupercalia

In ancient Rome, the feast of Lupercalia began on Feb 15th. The day before, the 14th, was dedicated to Juno. Juno was the Roman equivalent of Hera, queen of the gods, and was the goddess of marriage. On the 14th of February, the names of the young women were placed into a jar and the young men took turns in drawing a name. These pairings then stayed togther for the duration of the Lupercalia.

Nothing is said of what happened to those unfortunate guys at the end of the queue or the women whose names were left in the jar. Every year, millions of people around the world know how they must have felt.