Valentines Day : Its History And Celebrations 
By Arindam Bose

VALENTINE / LOVE

Celebrated on February 14 every year, Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is the traditional day on which lovers convey their love to each other by sending Valentine's cards, sometimes even anonymously. The most common feature of Valentines Day these days is the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Popular Valentine symbols of modern times include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, mass produced greeting cards have largely replaced handwritten notes. It is believed that nearly one billion Valentines Day cards are sent each year worldwide, making it only the second largest card-sending holiday next to Christmas. Women are believed to purchase approximately 85 percent of all "valentines".

Stories of many Valentines

Opinions differ about who St Valentine was. Early martyrologies mention at least three St Valentines under the date of 14 February. One is a priest at Rome, another a Bishop of Interamna (now Terni in Italy) and the other lived and died in Africa. Many, however, are of the opinion that the first two are the same person.

It is, however, widely believed that Valentine's Day has perhaps originated from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. A festival was held on February 15 in honor of one of their gods Lupercus, who was called upon by the Romans to ward off the threats of those fierce wolves that roamed the adjacent forests. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, a love lottery was organized in which the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man then drew a slip and the girl whose name he picked up was to be his sweetheart for the year.