Every February 14, across the UK and in other places around the world, chocolates, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? A brief look at the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England.

The Legend of St. Valentine.

The history of Valentines Day and the story of its patron saint is shrouded in mystery. It is known that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentines Day, as it is known today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend theorizes that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentinus' actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first valentines greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl, possibly his jailors daughter who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine", an expression that is still in use today.

Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and,most importantly, romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France !

Origins of Valentines Day: A Pagan Festival in February. While some believe that Valentines Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentines death or burial, which probably occurred around A.D. 270, others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentines feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goats hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The citys bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Valentines Day: A Day of Romance.

Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed as it was deemed un-Christian at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentines Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of the bird mating season, which added to the idea that Valentines Day should be a day for romance. Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentines didn't begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Typical Valentines Day Greetings.

In addition to the United States, Valentines Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the UK, France and Australia. Here in Great Britain, Valentines Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of ones feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentines Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the "Mother of the Valentine", made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colourful pictures known as "scrap". Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentines Day cards are sent each year, making Valentines Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85% of all valentine cards.

Today, valentines day is as important and as widely celebrated as ever and here in Portsmouth, things are no different ! Many couples will be out and about tonight and the restaurants will be full with many reporting that they are fully booked already, including one of our recommended restaurants, Yonkers, in Southsea. Wherever you choose to spend the evening, have a great time !