[Clarissa]

St. Valentines day is one of the oldest holidays. It was old before there was a land called America.

Thousands of years ago, this hoiday was celebrated in Rome. But in those times the Romans did not call it St. Valentines Day. Their name for it was Lupercalia. Lupercalia means "feasts of Lupercus."

The Romans believed that a God named Lupercus helped protect them from wolves. He was an important God to the people, because wolves were a great danger in Rome. Wolves lived in the woods that covered most of the land. They carried off the farmers' sheep and goats. They were so bold that even the farmers and their families were not always safe.

Each year, in the middle of February, the Romans had feasts to honor their God, Lupercus. they gave thanks to him for helping protect them from the wolves.

At the time of Lupercalia, the people feasted, danced and played games. When the young men wanted partners for the dances and game, they drew the names of girls out of a bowl. These girls would be their partners. Often they became the young men's sweethearts, as well.

For hundreds of years the people celebrated Lupercalia. Then the Christian religion came to Rome.

The Romans were persuade to take up the Christian beliefs and soon, no longer celebrated the God Lupercus. But Lupercalila was such a happy time. The people did not want to give it up.

So, the Catholic church kept the holiday to appease the people of Rome and honored a man claimed to be a saint who died in Rome on February 14. His Name was St. Valentine.

St. Valentine lived so long ago that we do not know why he was chosen for this honor, but we do know that he lived and died in Rome.

February 14 became known as St. Valentines day. As years went by, celebrations of St. Valentines day spread all through Europe as Christianity spread throughout it.

Some of these celebrations were like those of the original Romans. There were still feasts, games and dancing. A young man still chose his partner by drawing a girl's name out of a bowl.

In England it was believed that birds chose their mates on February 14, and thus people looked on this as a good day to choose a sweetheart as well.

A man choose his sweetheart on St. Valentine's day, of which he called her valentine. On St. Valentines day, sweethearts wrote letters to one another. Their letters were also called valentines.

At first these were only a few words. Then people began to draw pictures on the letters. Someone might draw a picture of a heart and write beneath it, "I give you my heart." Or someone might draw flowers and lace on a valentine just to make it beautiful. Some wrote verses on their Valentines. Some gave gifts to their sweethearts, too. Favorite gifts were candy, cakes, flowers and jewels.

Hundreds of years ago, in England, children dressed as grownups on Valentines day and would travel from house to house singing valentines songs.

When the english came to America...it all became commercialized.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

[OccumCymn]

And a very happy one to you. Thanks.

[Shiplyopidomi]

Happy Valentine's to you too. Enjoyed the history.

I heard that Valentine was in a Roman prison for something. He was sentenced to death on Feb. 14th. Before he died he wrote to his sweetheart on a leaf of some tree or another that was heart-shaped. Anyway, that's why we send heart-shaped cards and letters on this day. And why it is called Valentine's day. The details are sketchy, and I don't remember much of the story because I was in 1st or 2nd grade when I heard it. But there's what I remember.

[xkQCaS4w]

Thanks for passing this on, Messenger!

[ENCOSEARRALIA]

My most favorite holiday of the year..and I'm not even Catholic..but this does give insight to the origins..I had a very reliable source for this information..but then...so many documents have been altered throughout the ages by the Roman Catholic churches, that no one really knows the true facts of it all.

[truck]

Thanks,very interesting,I love learning about history