The tradition of St Valentine's Day can be traced back to the days of the Roman Empire. In Ancient Rome, the date of February 14 was a holiday to honor Juno, the Queen of the Roman Gods. Juno was known as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day (February 15) began the festival known as the Feast of Lupercia. It was the custom for all of the unmarried girls in the villages to write down their names and place them into a jar, wherefrom each young man would draw a name of a girl. The maiden whose name was chosen would become the young man's partner for the duration of the festival. Sometimes these pairings would last a year and end up in marriage. These rituals were banned under the laws of Claudius as the Emperor believed that the reasons men were reluctant to go to war were because they did not want to leave their lovers and families. As a result, all marriages and engagements were forbidden. Saint Valentine (a Roman priest) was said to have married these couples in secret and for this he was executed on the 14th day of February.
While St Valentine was in jail it is said that he fell in love with
the jailers daughter. By a some miracle or perhaps by due to the prayers of
Valentine she regained her sight. As a last farewell, he wrote a note
to her on the morning of his execution and signed it: From your Valentine.
From these humble beginnings, a worldwide tradition was born.
St Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 of each year. It is
celebrated on this day is because this was the day on which the Patron
Saint of Lovers -St. Valentine- was executed. On this day lovers all
around the world mark this occasion as a day for sending poems, cards,
flowers or candy, and other tokens of their affection. They might also
attend a social gathering or ball to mark the occasion.
Another Interesting legend is that St. Valentine was the patron Saint
of Epilepsy. He was supposedly a victim of this disease and took a keen
interest in others who suffered from this affliction. People who had
this condition were said to be suffering from "Valentine's Sickness."
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