Here I would like to share the history of Valentines Day as claimed by researchers, though I didn't really celebrate this day LOL :

Historians believe that the holiday of love derives its origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. On February 15, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercus, to honor and thank the wolf god who watched over the Roman shepherds and their flocks.

While Lupercus doesn't seem to have much to do with romance, there was a number of fertility customs associated with his feast. In one of these rituals, women would put their names on slips of paper in a box, to be drawn out by men. The two would then be coupled up for the duration of the festival - or for the rest of the year in some cases. This fertility-friendly feast gives some clue as to the romantic - or at least procreative - nature of the holiday. But we don't celebrate Saint Lupercus Day on February 14th. So, how did the Valentine saints become associated with the Roman god?

Legend has it that in the 3rd century, the Roman emperor Claudius II banned marriages to prevent draft dodgers. Only single men had to go into the army - and too many young men were getting married.

A Christian priest named Valentinus of Rome ignored the ban, continuing to officiate marriages in secret. Valentinus was caught and sentenced to death - an order carried out on February 14. Another story tells of a priest named Valentinus who was jailed and later executed for helping Christians. He fell for his jailer's daughter and sent her plaintiff love notes signed "from your Valentine".

In the late 5th century, Emperor Gelasius declared February 14th a holy day in honor of Valentinus (probably the first, but perhaps the second), allowing Christianity to adopt some of the love day customs previously associated with paganism.

The traditions were reworked, however, to honor the Christian martyrs. For example, instead of boys pulling girls' names from boxes, both boys and girls chose names of martyred saints to emulate for the year.

It took nearly nine centuries, until the advent of the Renaissance, for Valentines Day to return to its earlier love-based roots. With Romantic art, poetry and music flourishing, the time was ripe for a celebration of love.

• > In 496 AD, St Valentine's Day was declared a day of feasting by Pope Gelasius.
• > The first Valentine was thought to be sent by a captured French Knight in London, after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, to his wife home in France.
• > The name "Cupid" comes from the Latin word for desire. The Greeks call this god "Eros" (E-ross), the god of love.
• > The apple is sacred to "Venus", Roman goddess of love. It has long been associated with love divination.
• > In Italy there is an old tradition for single woman to awaken before sunrise to keep a look out for any man to pass their window. It was believed that they would marry this man or someone similar, within that year.
• > The old country name for the Daisy is 'measure of love' and it is still one of the most popular love tests. Pick off the white petals of the flower one by one whilst saying alternatively, "he loves me, he loves me not'. The last petal will reveal the truth.
• > ENGLISH: "I love you." SPANISH: (Catalan) "T'estimo molt." (or Basque) "Ni maite zaitut." FRENCH: "Je t'aime ma (mon) cherie." GERMANY: "Ich liebe dich." ITALIAN: "Ti voglio bene." JAPANESE: "Anata wa aishiteru."

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