Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day)[1][2][3] is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection

between intimate companions [1][3] !he holiday is named after one or more early "hristian martyrs named #alentine and was established by $ope %elasius & in '( 4)* &t is traditionally a day on which lovers e+press their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (-nown as .valentines.) !he holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of %eoffrey "haucer in the /igh 0iddle 'ges, when the tradition of courtly love flourished 0odern #alentine1s (ay symbols include the heart2shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged "upid 3ince the 1)th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass2produced greeting cards [4] Older tradition !he sending of #alentines was a fashion in nineteenth2century %reat 4ritain, and, in 1546, 7sther /owland developed a successful business in her 8orcester, 0assachusetts home with hand2made #alentine cards based on 4ritish models !he popularity of #alentine cards in 1)th century 'merica, where many #alentine cards are now general greeting cards rather than declarations of love, was a harbinger of the future commerciali9ation of holidays in the :nited 3tates [;] &t1s considered one of the /allmar- holidays !he : 3 %reeting "ard 'ssociation estimates that appro+imately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, ma-ing the day the second largest card2sending holiday of the year, behind "hristmas !he association estimates that, in the :3, men spend on average twice as much money as women [*] Saint Valentine For more details on this topic, see 3aint #alentine <umerous early "hristian martyrs were named #alentine [6] !he #alentines honored on February 14 are #alentine of =ome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and #alentine of !erni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae) [5] #alentine of =ome[)] was a priest in =ome who was martyred about '( 2*) and was buried on the #ia Flaminia /is relics are at the "hurch of 3aint $ra+ed in =ome,[1>] and at 8hitefriar 3treet "armelite "hurch in (ublin, &reland #alentine of !erni[11] became bishop of &nteramna (modern !erni) about '( 1)6 and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under 7mperor 'urelian /e is also buried on the #ia Flaminia, but in a different location than #alentine of =ome /is relics are at the 4asilica of 3aint #alentine in !erni (Basilica di San Valentino) [12] !he Catholic Encyclopedia also spea-s of a third saint named #alentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14 /e was martyred in 'frica with a number of companions, but nothing more is -nown about him [13] <o romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs 4y the time a 3aint #alentine became lin-ed to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between #alentine of =ome and #alentine of !erni were utterly lost
[14]

&n the 1)*) revision of the =oman "atholic "alendar of 3aints, the feastday of 3aint #alentine on February 14 was removed from the %eneral =oman "alendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason? .!hough the memorial of 3aint #alentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is -nown of 3aint #alentine e+cept that he was buried on the #ia Flaminia on February 14 .[1;] !he feast day is still celebrated in 4al9an (0alta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by !raditionalist "atholics who follow the older, pre2#atican && calendar !he 7arly 0edieval acta of either 3aint #alentine were e+pounded briefly in Legenda Aurea [1*] 'ccording to that version, 3t #alentine was persecuted as a "hristian and interrogated by =oman 7mperor "laudius && in person "laudius was impressed by #alentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to =oman paganism in order to save his life #alentine refused and tried to convert "laudius to "hristianity instead 4ecause of this, he was e+ecuted 4efore his e+ecution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his @ailer Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray #alentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to =oman 7mperor "laudius &&, allegedly ordering that young men remain single !he 7mperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not ma-e for good soldiers !he priest #alentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men 8hen "laudius found out about this, he had #alentine arrested and thrown in @ail &n an embellishment to The olden Legend provided by 'merican %reetings, &nc to /istory com and widely repeated, on the evening before #alentine was to be e+ecuted, he wrote the first .valentine. himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved,[16] as the @ailer1s daughter whom he had befriended and healed,[15] or both &t was a note that read .From your #alentine .[16] Attested traditions

Pre-Roman #alentine was a common =oman name given to the name of their children in honor of the famous man who was first called #alentine in antiAuity, Bupercus (.he who wards off the wolf.) the hunter, a god associated with the =oman god Faunus and the goddess Fauna !he %ree-s called Bupercus or Faunus by the name of $an !he 3emites called $an by the name 4aul, another name for <imrod, .the mighty hunter. (4oo- of %enesis 1>?)) ' common proverb of ancient time was that <imrod was .the mighty hunter before the Bord. and their hero and their strong man !he original #alentine was <imrod, the mighty hunter of wolves 'nother of <imrod1s names was 3anctuc or 3anta, meaning 3aint [citation needed] !he =omans acAuired the symbol of the heart from the 4abylonians &n the 4abylonian language, the word for heart was bal !he heart 2 bal 2 was merely a symbol of <imrod 2 the 4aal or Bord of the 4abylonians <imrod was also -nown as 3aturn, the =oman24abylonian god who hid from his pursuers in a secret place !he Batin word 3aturn is derived from the 3emitic2spea-ing 4abylonians, means .be hid,. .hide self., .secret., or .conceal. !he original 3emitic (/ebrew) word is .3athar,. also .sether.) 'ccording to ancient tradition, 3aturn (<imrod) fled from his pursuers to &taly !he 'ppenine 0ountains of &taly were anciently named the mountains of <embrod or <imrod <imrod briefly hid out at the site where =ome was later built !he ancient name of =ome, before it was rebuilt in 6;3 4 " was 3aturnia, the site of 3aturn1s (<imrod1s) hiding, where he was found and slain for his crimes "hristians in "onstantine1s day made <imrod a saint of the =oman "atholic "hurch and continued to honor him as a "hristian martyr !he =omans chose February 1; and the evening of February 14 to honor Bupercus 22 in ancient times began at sunset the evening before 22 because <imrod 22 4aal or sun god of the pagans 2 was said to have been born at the winter solstice &n ancient time the solstice occurred on Canuary * and his birthday therefore was celebrated on (ecember 2; and now called "hristmas &t was the custom of antiAuity for, the mother of a male child to present herself for purification on the fortieth day after Canuary *, now celebrated by "hristians as 7piphany <imrod1s original birth date ta-es us to February 1;, the celebration of which began on the evening of February 14, the Bupercalia or 3t #alentine1s (ay Dn this day in February, 3emiramis, the mother of <imrod, was said to have been purified and to have appeared for the first time in public with her son as the original .mother and child . !he =oman month February derives its name from the !ebrua which the =oman priests used in the rites celebrated on 3t #alentine1s (ay !he !ebru were thongs from the s-ins of sacrificial animals used in rites of purification on the evening of February 14 'nother name for the child <imrod was ."upid., meaning .desire. &t is said that when <imrod1s mother saw him, she lusted after him <imrod became 3emiramis1s "upid 3o evil was <imrod1s mother that it is said she married her own son &nscribed on the monuments of ancient 7gypt are inscriptions that <imrod (the 7gyptians called him Dsiris) was .the husband of his mother . 's <imrod grew up, he became the child2hero of many women who desired him &n the 4oo- of (aniel, he is called the .desire of women. ((aniel 11?36) 0offatt translates the word as !ammu9, a 4abylonian name of <imrod /e provo-ed so many women to @ealousy that an idol of him was often called the .image of @ealousy. (79e-iel 5?;) <imrod, the hunter, was also their #alentine !he pagans commemorated their hero2hunter <imrod, or 4aal, by sending heart2shaped love to-ens to one another on the evening of February 14 as a symbol of him <imrod, the son of "ush the 7thiopian, was later a source of embarrassment to the pagans of 7urope, not wanting to worship an 'frican !hey later substituted a supposed son of <imrod, a child named /orus, born after the death of <imrod !his child then became a ."upid. of 7uropean culture and tradition