Valentine

Valentine’s Day History and Legends 

 February 14th is a day when close friends or loved ones send each other gifts to express their friendship or love. What is the origin of this tradition?

 Valentine's Day is associated to the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated on 15th February, Lupercalia was an annual fertility festival dedicated to the Roman god of agriculture, Faunus, and to Romulus and Remus, the Roman founders.

But there are also some legends associated with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. 
 

One of the most popular legends says that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. Claudius II, the Emperor at that time,  decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. So, he forbade marriage for young men in order to build a stronger army. It is said that Valentine thought this law was unfair and decided to marry young couples secretly. When the Emperor found out what Valentine was doing, he sentenced him to death.

According to another legend  Valentine was a prisoner who fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Just before his death, he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote a farewell letter to her lover and signed it 'Your Valentine', words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we'll never know the true identity and story of St. Valentine, but this much is for sure... February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.

 Cupid (Latin cupido, "desire") is another valentine gentleman. In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love.