Happy Valentine's Day

Published: February 6, 2006

Romantic card: check
Roses and chocolates: check
Diamonds, ever so neatly wrapped in a gift box: check

Ok, now you feel ready to join the millions of people around the world to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Wait, before you send that card or hand over the gifts, do you know where and when this whole Valentine's thing began? Well, here's a little information for you.

Some sources say that Valentine's Day as we know it now was originally a Roman pagan celebration called Lupercalia in which they worshiped the god Lupercus. Lupercus is credited with watching over the sheperd's flocks and saving the flocks from wolves. Part of the annual celebration in paying homage to Lupercus involved a purification ritual that was believed to enhance fertility and to ease childbirth.

The ancient celebration of Lupercalia was linked to modern Valentine's Day when Pope Gelasius I deemed the ancient celebration immoral. Somewhere around 496 AD, he replaced the February 15th celebration of Lupercalia with the February 14th celebration of Valentine's Day. Here is where it gets a little fuzzy as to which saint was THE Saint. Apparently, there were several Saint Valentines; one was a Roman priest, another an Interamna Bishop and yet a third who lived and subsequently died in Africa.

Now that you've read the above, you're probably more confused about holiday's origin. Wherever it came from or however it began, the one thing for certain is that today's retailers are loving it.

According to the National Retail Federation, in 2007 Americans will spend $16.9 billion on Valentine's cards and gifts. That's an average of $119.67 per person, that's up $18.78 per person from 2006. Florists report Valentine's Day as their number one holiday. That's a lot of flowers and candy.

What we really should do is get in the habit of honoring our loved ones every day.

Now that I've taken all of the romance out of the holiday, go out and enjoy.

That's my two cents and I'm sticking with it!

About the Author: I am Felicia A. Williams, a wife, mom, grandma, writer and eternal student.

Last Modified: 21 May 2021