what is the origin of valentines day?
109931
well..here it is..\n\nEveryone thinks they know the origin of Valentine's Day. According to the most commonly accepted story, Emperor Claudius of Rome issued a decree forbidding marriage in the year 271. Roman generals had found that married men did not make very good soldiers, because they wanted to return as quickly as possible to their wives and children-and they didn't want to leave them to fight the emperor's battles in the first place. So Claudius issued his edict that there should be no more marriages, and all single men should report for duty.\n \nA priest named Valentine deemed such a decree an abomination, and he secretly continued to marry young lovers. When Claudius learned of this extreme act of disobedience to his imperial command, he ordered the priest dragged off to prison and had him executed on February 14.\n \nFather Valentine, the friend of sweethearts, became a martyr to love and the sanctity of marriage, and when the Church gained power in the Roman Empire, the Holy See was quick to make him a saint.\n \nThe early Church fathers were well aware of the popularity of a vast number of heathen gods and goddesses, as well as the dates of observation of pagan festivals, so they set about replacing as many of the entities and the holidays as possible with ecclesiastical saints and feast days. Mid-February had an ancient history of being devoted to acts of love of a far more passionate and lusty nature than the Church wished to bless, and the bishops moved as speedily as possible to claim the days of February 14 through 17 as belonging to Saint Valentine, the courageous martyr to the ties that bound couples in Christian love.
26325
this is my opinion...if you're doing this for love it doesnt matter what day it is, if it happens to be valentines its on valentines day.
810274
In English military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. While the initial D in D-day does not stand for anything, it often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will or has occurred.\n\nBy far, the best known D-Day is June 6, 1944 — the day on which the Battle of Normandy began — commencing the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II. However, many other invasions and operations had a designated D-Day, both before and after Operation Overlord. D-Day was originally planned for June 5, 1944 but bad weather and heavy seas delayed that.\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D_Day
935297
Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.\n\nOne legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.\n\nOther stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.\n\nAccording to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.\n\nWhile some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.\n\nTo begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.\n\nThe boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would 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 then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages,
83047
Happy Valentine's day
739813
Check out wikpedia.org  or search history of christmas\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas\nChristmas has its origins in several pagan holidays. The Roman celebration known as Saturnalia included the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia). This holiday was observed over a series of days beginning on December 17 (the birthday of Saturn), and ending on December 25 (the birthday of Sol Invictus, the "unconquered sun". The combined festivals resulted in an extended winter holiday season. Business was postponed and even slaves feasted. There was drinking, gambling, and singing, and nudity was relatively common. It was the "best of days," according to the poet Catullus.[3]\n\nDuring the time in which Christianity was spreading throughout the Roman Empire, another similar religion known as Mithraism was also gaining widespread acceptance. The followers of Mithraism worshipped Mithras, a god of Persian origin, who was identified with Sol Invictus. The followers of Mithraism, consequently, adopted the birthday of Sol Invictus as the birthday of Mithras. In 274 AD, due to the popularity of Mithraism, Emperor Aurelian designated December 25 as the festival of Sol Invictus.
1007153
Saint Valentine's Day falls on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers let each other know about their love by sending Valentine's cards, which are often anonymous. The holiday is named after two men named Valentine, both Christain martyrs. The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.\n\nFebruary 14 was traditionally dedicated to two ancient martyrs named Valentine. They are listed in early martyrologies under the date of February 14, which suggests that this is date of their deaths. There is a third St. Valentine from Africa who was also martyred on February 14, but he didn't get a saint's day. There is very little information about any these Valentines that can be considered historically accurate. The Valentines honored on February 14 are:\n\nValentine of Rome - a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and is buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome  and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. \nValentine of Terni - He became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the beautiful Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino). \nSome sources say the Valentine linked to romance is Valentine of Rome, others say Valentine of Terni. The Bollandists have concluded that the two were originally the same person.
116592
Its supposed to be the feast day of St. Valentine, an early martyr of the church.  I think it was Caligula who abolished the institute of marriage and Valentine felt obligated to marry people who were willing to question authority.\n\nThe modern CELEBRATION of Valentine's Day is an abomination brought about by the Corporate powers of Hallmark who noticed a sharp decline in sales between Christmas and Easter.  Their decision: to market an unrecognized feast day and the rest is history.
171841
Happy valentines Day.
235203
The origin of this custom has been much disputed, and many theories have been suggested, e.g. that it is a farcical commemoration of Christ being sent from Annas to Caiaphas, from Caiaphas to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod, and from Herod back again to Pilate, the crucifixion having taken place about the 1st of April.\n\nWhat seems certain is that it is in some way or other a relic of those once universal festivities held at the vernal equinox, which, beginning on old New Year's day, the 25th of March, ended on the 1st of April. This view gains support from the fact that the exact counterpart of April-fooling is found to have been an immemorial custom in India. The festival of the spring equinox is there termed the feast of Holi, the last day of which is the 31st of March, upon which the chief amusement is the befooling of people by sending them on fruitless errands.\n\nIt has been plausibly suggested that Europe derived its April-fooling from the French [1]. They were the first nation to adopt the reformed Gregorian calendar, Charles IX in 1564 decreeing that the year should begin with the 1st of January. Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair butts for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April.\n\nHowever, it is unlikely that this explanation of April Fool's Day’s origin is correct. Well before 1582 when King Charles IX of France brought in the new Gregorian calendar, French and Dutch references from respectively 1508 and 1539 describe April Fool's Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April.\n\nThough the 1st of April appears to have been anciently observed in Great Britain as a general festival, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being there, as it is in most lands, a term of contempt. In France the person befooled is known as poisson d'avril. This has been explained from the association of ideas arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the zodiacal sign of the fish. A far more natural explanation would seem to be that the April fish would be a young fish and therefore easily caught.\n\nThe Dutch history book-version is this: In 1572 The Netherlands were still ruled by the Spanish king Phillip II, son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Because the Dutch did not comply with this, they fought back. There was this band of roaming so-called freedom fighters, what we'd now call terrorists, calling themselves Geuzen, after the french geux which means beggars. They were sailing around the Northsea looking for Spanish ships to sink and after a while they got tired and needed some rest, but having no Dutch port to land in, they figured they'd capture one. So on April 1, 1572, they took this little coastal town called Den Briel. This event was also the start of the general civil rising against the Spanish in other cities in The Netherlands. This general phillip had send up called Alva was very upset and all but he couldn't do much. Bril is the Dutch word for glasses, so on April 1, 1572, Alva lost his glasses. Dutch people find this joke so hilarious they still commemorate April the first.
156682
SAINT VALENTINE  \n \nSaint Valentine, according to romantic legend, was a kind-hearted Roman priest who married young couples against the wishes of Emperor Claudius II, and was beheaded for his deeds on the 14th of February. In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." Two of these men lived in the third century A.D., one being the bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the other a priest of Rome. (Some speculate that these two figures were actually the same man.) Both seem to have been persecuted for their beliefs; the Roman priest reportedly was beaten and then beheaded on the orders of Emperor Claudius II, on or about the year 270. Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance: the date of his death may have become mingled with the feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love, or with the ancient belief that birds first mate in the middle of February. In modern times Valentine's Day is a day of special romantic sentiment and gift-giving.
41020
I believe that the significance of Valentine's Day is to share it with someone you love. I have honestly never hated Valentine's Day just because I didn't have someone to share it with! I always shared it with my family and friends until I got me a significant other.
286925
it means fat tuesday, it originated in france.  acyually, it was a pagan celebration, kindof like todays in Louisiana.  It was the day before ash wednesday, which is today.  it was origannally earlier in the month, but when the christians came they moved it, it is now used to party before the 40 days of lent
816647
Nothing.\nIn English military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. \nWhile the initial D in D-day does not stand for anything, it often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will or has occurred.\nBy far, the best known D-Day is June 6, 1944 — the day on which the Battle of Normandy began — commencing the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II.
145392
Check out www.wikipedia.org.  Search for Valentines Day.  It give you a big long history and details from how it is celebrated around the world.  I would put it here, but it is much too long.
165433
Valentines originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity.  He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries.  Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine".
145205
If it's midnight or later on the 14th, it's Valentine's Day. \n\n(I suggest you invest in a clock and a calendar.)