The history of Valentine's Day dates back as early as the fourth century B.C. in the Roman Empire. The holiday was originally set aside to honor Juno, the queen of the god's and goddesses and the goddess of marriage. However, today, Feb. 14 is better known as the day we celebrate St. Valentine.
The tradition actually began in Rome with a festival on the eve of Feb 15, the day, which began the Feast of Lupercalia. At the festival, Roman girls name were put into a jar and then drawn by young Roman men to decide who would be their date for the continuing festival the next day. Sometimes the dates would turn into partnerships that would turn into marriage.
However, the Claudius II was the ruler of Rome at this time and was unpopular due to the bloody wars he fought. Many men ultimately did not sign up to fight because they didn't want to leave their wives and children to fight, so in retaliation, Claudius II banned the festival and marriages.
Most of the Romans disagreed with this decree. However, a priest by the name of St. Valentine began to perform marriages secretly. In a secret, quiet, candlelit room, just St. Valentine and the couple would participate in a marriage ceremony. To his detriment though, St. Valentine was discovered on night by a guard while performing the marriage ceremony, and was thrown into jail where he was sentenced to death.
Many young people, including the daughter of a guard, would visit St. Valentine while he was in jail to lift his spirits. St. Valentine was eventually killed but before he died he wrote the guard's daughter a letter thanking her for her frequent visits. He signed the letter, "Love from your Valentine." Since then, St. Valentine has become known as the "patron saint of lovers", and people all over the world observe the holiday as time to remind themselves of love and friendship.
