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14th February, Valentine’s Day, is one of the most popular holidays. For centuries, people have celebrated Valentine’s Day with much enthusiasm. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day was celebrated as a Roman feast. Later it came to be associated with a Roman Catholic feast day on February 14th to honor two Roman martyrs, both by the name of St. Valentine.  

 This holiday originally originated in ancient Rome. Romans of the ancient times celebrated a fertility festival of Lupercalis on February 15th. The priests who conducted this ritual were known as Luperci. The ritual began with a sacrifice of goats and a dog done by Lupercis. This was followed by two of the Lupercis were led to the alter where their foreheads were touched with the bloody knife that was used for the sacrifices. And then, the blood was wiped off with a piece of wool dipped in milk. This ritual was marked with a sacrificial feast. Following that, a sacrificial feast took place. And at the end of the festival thongs were cut from the skin of the sacrificed animals which were held by noble youths who ran up and down through the city naked, for sport and laughter striking those they meet with shaggy thongs. Women and children purposely got in the way to shake hands, believing that the pregnant will be bestowed by good luck, and the barren will be bestowed with good luck. A blow from the thong was believed to cure sterility in women. Later, Pope Gelasius I (492-496) abolished Lupercalia. 

There is many a folklore of how Valentine’s Day came to be a celebration of love. Some stories talk of St. Valentine helping prisoners of harsh Roman prisons escape. He was imprisoned for the deed.  According to a legend, while in prison, St. Valentine fell in love with his jailor’s daughter and began to send her written love letters signed “From your valentine.” And thus the saint’s birthday is said to be celebrated as Valentine’s Day, the day of celebration of love.

According to another legend, St. Valentine, a Roman priest who began to secretly marry couples against the direct orders of Emperor Claudius II. Emperor Claudius was facing difficulties recruiting soldiers for his military because the young men didn’t want to leave their wives at home. To overcome this problem, he declared that both engagements and marriages were illegal. St. Valentine eventually was executed for his violation of Claudius’ orders, and thus the holiday of Lupercalia came to be acclaimed as a celebration of love and the celebration of St. Valentine. By the 15th Century, St. Valentines Day was celebrated with lovers singing their romantic feelings to their beloveds. People often wrote sonnets and other love poems to celebrate their love. These poems and sonnets came to be popularly known as valentine messages or valentines. The oldest surviving valentine in history was written in 1415 from the Duke of Orleans to his beloved wife. It was written while he was held prisoner in the Tower of London. The message is on display in the British Museum in London.

While the exact origin of Valentine’s Day is not known exactly, there is no doubt that it is not just a holiday from the modern times but has a history to it. It is a chance to both honor the history and modernity of love and affection.