Saint Valentine the Patron Saint of Love

The History of Valentine’s Day is very interesting it started out in ancient Rome during Mid-February as a pagan fertility festival called the Feast of Lupercalia. Then as time went on the pagan holiday was changed to honor a heroic priest known as Saint Valentine.

The Feast of Lupercalia
Took place on February 15 the Day after February 14 which was the day dedicated to honoring Juno the the Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also regarded Juno as the Goddess of Women and Marriage. The Feast of Lupercalia was a fertility festival honoring the gods Lupercus and Fannus - the Roman God of Agriculture besides the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. An interesting custom was followed in the Feast of Lupercalia to bring together young boys and girls who otherwise were strictly separated. On the eve of the festival names of young Roman girls were written on a slip of paper and placed into jars. Each young man drew out a girl's name from the jar and was paired with the girl for the duration of Lupercalia. Sometime pairing lasted for a year until next year's celebration. Quite often, the couple would fall in love with each other and later marry.

Defiance by Saint Valentine
The pairing of young boys and girls did set the mood of the Valentine's Day Festival as we know today. But it was actually due to the efforts and daring of a priest St Valentine that the festival got its name and clearer meaning. The story goes that during the reign of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in several bloody and unpopular campaigns. To maintain a strong army, Claudius continuously needed to recruit soldiers. But to his disappointment Claudius found that most men were unwilling to join army because of their strong attachment with their wives and their families. To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. A romantic at heart priest, Valentine, defied Claudius's unjustified order. Along with Saint Marius, St Valentine secretly married couples. When his defiance was discovered, Valentine was brutally beaten and put to death on February 14, about 270 AD. For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death. By Middle Ages, Saint Valentine became the patron saint of love and lovers in England and France. In 498 AD, when Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to pagan celebration of Feast of Lupercalia, he declared that 14th February be celebrated as St Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Traditions and Customs
One of the most important customs of Valentine's Day festival is the exchange of love notes called ‘Valentines' by lovers. The tradition is said to have initiated in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans who sent the first known Valentine Day card to his wife from prison. In present times, Valentine's Day is the second biggest Valentine's Day card-giving holiday after Christmas. There is also the tradition of gifting flowers, chocolates besides other gifts of love on Valentine's Day as an expression of love.