The history of Valentine's Day
Roman Emperor Claudius II executed two men; both named Valentine, on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. and the Catholic Church honored their death with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.
From Feb. 13-15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia, an annual festival in the month of February that was celebrated to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, and then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.
"The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s 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 city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage."
Later, Roman Pope Gelasius I mixed things up in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals.
As time went on, famous writers and poets made this dark holiday a bit sweeter by romanticizing it in their work, resulting in the creation of handmade paper cards for the special day during the Middle Ages.
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, combined with the popularity of this love holiday in the Western world, began the process of factory-made cards.
In 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines.
Today, Valentine’s Day brings in approximately $18 billion dollars per year in sales.
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