The story behind Valentine's day- the most romantic day of the year

We all celebrate Valentine’s Day, the most romantic day of the year, but few of us know the story behind it. How this romantic tradition began, and what are the roots of Valentine’s Day? Here are some interesting facts about it.

The roots of Valentine’s Day are still unclear. Some people believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in honor of Saint Valentine, a saint who was sentenced to death after performing wedding ceremonies in secret. Claudius II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, had banned marriages and engagements around 270 A.D, believing young men were too attached to their wives and family to be good soldiers. After discovering that Valentine had disregarded his decree, Claudius II had him beheaded in front of the masses on February 14th that same year.
Many believe that the holiday can be traced back to the Roman fertility festival, Lupercalia. On this day, young men would participate in a lottery, where they would draw the name of a young woman. Once deemed a couple, the pair would unite as sexual companions for the year ahead.
Other people say that Valentine’s Day was created by Hallmark as a marketing ploy meant to increase the company’s profits each year. Hallmark, however, didn’t produce its first Valentine’s Day card until the year 1913, centuries after the day was declared an official holiday by Pope Gelasius at the end of the 5th Century.
The legend states that the first recorded Valentine was sent by the Duke of New Orleans in 1415. The Duke sent his wife a Valentine while he was being held captive in the Tower of London following his arrest during the Battle of Agincourt. While it isn’t clear if the Duke signed his name, the tradition of sending anonymous cards became very popular around this time. During the Victorian era, it was actually considered bad luck to sign your name on a Valentine.
Some other historical facts claim that women in medieval times would spend the evening of February 14th eating exotic foods in hopes of scrounging up dreams of the men they would marry. These hallucinations gave the single women something to look forward to on the romantic holiday.
Another interesting fact is that sending cards became a tradition in Great Britain in the 17th Century and it didn’t take long for the popular gesture to spread around the world. Now over one billion cards are sent every year.

Despite its bloody beginnings, Valentine’s Day has morphed into what it is today: The World’s Most Romantic Holiday. Now, people from the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, France and Australia all celebrate the holiday by giving gifts, writing cards, sending flowers and candy, or spending time with the ones they love.