The History of Valentines Day How did Valentines Day get started. The origins of Valentine's Day trace back to the 4th century BC with the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia. Held on February 15, Lupercalia honored the gods Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. In addition to a bountiful feast, Lupercalia festivities are purported to have included the pairing of young women and men. Men would draw women's names from a box, and each couple would be paired until next year's celebration. This is one theory for the lottery.The Roman emporer Claudius 11 banned marriage because young men wouldn't sign up for the army. He instituted this lottery so a man could have a partner for the year. It wasn't called "Valentine's Day" until a priest named Valentine came along. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius II's decree that soldiers remain bachelors.Claudius handed down this decree believing that soldiers would be distracted and unable to concentrate on fighting if they were married or engaged. Valentine defied the emperor and secretly performed marriage ceremonies. As a result of his defiance, Valentine was put to death on February 14. After Valentine's death, he was named a saint. As Christianity spread through Rome, the priests moved Lupercalia from February 15 to February 14 and renamed it St. Valentine's Day to honor Saint Valentine Read more at these..... Links with thanks to Carolyn Berry This is one I like most, the way it is laid out. This has many neat facts on how certain traditions started , like wearing your heart on your sleeve ...where the saying "from your valentine" came from. Valentines Day History from Pictureframes.co.uk _____________________________ This is a nice Valentines history site that also tells such information as how the XXX became kisses. The History of Valentines Day from morning-glow.com This one has lots of history of the different symbols like cupid and the arrows, and how Valentine greeting cards got started. Valentines, History, Symbols, Phobias from brownielocks.com ____________________________ The History of Valentines Day from The Holiday Spot" ________________________ The History of Valentines day from the history channel The History of the Heart Symbol from symbols.com   TOP