February 14

There is no formality in the world on Valentine's Day.  But how did this day come about?                                                                          

 Noel Lensky, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, says Valentine's Day celebrations began in the Roman Empire about 2,000 years ago.  At that time a festival called Lupercalia was celebrated from 3rd to 5th February in the hope of love and abundance.  But in the culture of that celebration, there was not the slightest hint of love, there was primitive barbarism.               

 The Romans have a role to play in naming Valentine's Day Valentine's Day.  At some point in the year 260, the Roman emperor Claudius II ordered the young men of the empire not to marry.  But disobeying the emperor's orders, a saint named Valentine started preaching love.  Saint Valentine was sentenced to death for disobeying the emperor's orders.  In the middle of the fifth century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 a day of love in order to end the Roman barbaric festivities and commemorate the sacrifice of Saint Valentine.                                                                                                    Which quickly became popular among Christians worldwide.  However, in the present era, the credit for spreading Valentine's Day among the common people goes to Hallmark, the company that makes greeting cards.  Since Hallmark started making thousands of Valentine's Day cards in 1913, word of the day has been widely circulated and spread to every country in the world.