when did valentine's day started? What inspired them to have a day like this?
144898
There was some stupid greek guy named Valentinio and heloved this girl. Well............. he wnt to jail and before he died he wrote a letter to her and at the end it said "will u be my valentine?" so yup thats it!
149831
February 14 is Valentine's Day. Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, it originated in 5th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.\nFor eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his companion during the remaining year.\nIn an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule changes.\nInstead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius. \nClaudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. When Claudius found out about Valentine, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. When he failed, he was stoned and beheaded.\nDuring the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.\nAlthough the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name. \nThe first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time.\nCupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the Roman god of love and beauty. Cupid often appears on Valentine cards.
106417
Valentine's Day is a day where people have set aside to show\nhow much they love their mate or significant other. The \nphrase "Will you be my valentine" is just a statement they\nsay on Valentine's Day. Everyday we are to show love. Not\njust on this day. Love is an everyday action. You can buy a\ngift for someone just because.
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.
146365
Valentine's day is the one time of year that everyone can be openly affectionate.\nPeople who have absolutely no significant other can get quite depressed when a day comes around that's solely revolved around love and affection.\nNatural reaction.
34684
I think it would be more romantic to get married on a day that has personal significance to a couple, instead of a day that is more generally symbolic like V-Day. Plus, if you marry on a day that you both find super special (like the day you met or the first day you both kissed), you get an extra present! LOL. You miss out on a V-Day gift if your anniversary is the same day!!!
151958
The art wall in my piano studio is covered with home-made cards & hand-drawn pictures. It's my favorite wall in the whole house. My students all went home with homemade chocolate chip cookies & pipe cleaner hearts. \n\nMy kids got to eat the leftover cookies. They'll be workin' on that 'til St. Patrick's Day. They also received pipe-cleaner hearts, and are still being occasionally grabbed & smothered with hugs & kisses. They wish Valentine's Day was over.\n\nIf I had a guy of my own, the one thing he could give me that I would most enjoy would be to sing to me. Down on one knee, hold my hand in his, look into my eyes adoringly, and sing to me. It wouldn't matter how he sounds, as long as he honestly loves me. I'd probably cry, but that's what I'd want more than anything else.\n\nFlowers are pretty cool, too.
1150101
I loved Valentines Day; still do, even when I'm single.  I loved how corny all the cards were back in school -- for example, Boffo, stop "clowning" around, will you be my Valentine?  LOL, here's a really great website with disturbing, creepy Valentines you may enjoy:
502098
A bit of both. It's a good day to express your love, but shouldn't you do that everyday? Maybe Hallmark didn't create the holiday, but they are cetainly making a very big deal about it. So it's kind of corny, but kind of nice at the same time.
46500
Valentine's Day falls on February 14, and is the traditional day on which lovers in certain cultures let each other know about their love, commonly by sending Valentine's cards, which are often anonymous. The history of Valentine's day can be traced back to an obscure Catholic Church feast day, said to be in honor of Saint Valentine, are discussed below. The day's associations with romantic love arrived after the High Middle Ages, during which the concept of romantic love was formulated.\n\nThe day is now most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Starting in the 19th century, the practice of hand writing notes has largely given way to the exchange of mass-produced greeting cards. The Greeting Card Association estimates that, world-wide, approximately one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association also estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines
116557
Actually the valentines day is an idea for commercial businesses related with gifts, greeting cards(both online and offline), chocolates, flowers etc. and most of the other special days like fathers day, mothers day, teachers day etc. are same.\nThough I arrange something special for me & my fiance in this day. have u ever listen the word "extra care". It's a day [14 feb] to take an extra care for your beloved one... nothing so special.\nThanks.
1147299
Depends which one. There were at least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, and are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February. One is described as a priest at Rome, another as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two seem both to have suffered in the second half of the third century . In the Middle Ages what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine. Of the third Saint Valentine, who suffered in Africa with a number of companions, nothing is known so far. \n\nAs for St. Valentine's Day, it had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair.  For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers' tokens. Both the French and English literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contain allusions to the practice. So basically, it was a custom that coincided with St Valentine's Day, and out of ignorance associate it with the Feast Day, when all it is is a coincidence.
171211
u kno valentines day is the day luv not just luv 4 a boy or girl but the luv u also have 4 ur parents sis. bros. & friends old teacher pets ec. the point is u don't need a girl
52715
Its a day when u show ur significant other how much u love and appreciate them although u should be showing them everday but for the people who dont...why not take one day out of the year to just appreciate and love ur mate.
99161
Please tell me what this has to do with Valentine's Day. You posted the question under that topic, and I don't see the relationship between a holiday and the end of the world.
96127
Valentine's is celebrated on February 14, celebrated in various American and European countries by the exchange of valentines or love tokens.\n\nRoman Roots\nThe history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends. The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.\n\nValentines Galore\nWhich St. Valentine this early pope intended to honor remains a mystery: according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third St. Valentine almost nothing is known except that he met his end in Africa. Rather astonishingly, all three Valentines were said to have been martyred on Feb. 14.\n\nMost scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.\n\nIn 1969, the Catholic Church revised its liturgical calendar, removing the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable. St. Valentine was one of the casualties.\n\nChaucer's Love Birds\nIt was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine, it was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.\n\nIn 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked:\n\nFor this was on St. Valentine's Day, \nWhen every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.\n\nTradition of Valentine's Cards\n Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines.
96087
if you dont, i will wish you a happy valentines day now! happy valentines day. i hope you have a great day and be sweet.