Who came up with the Valentine's Day holiday?
154023
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day#History_of_Valentine.27s_Day
343115
During the Roman Empire, St. Valentine (one of the first Catholic saints) would marry couples under the Christian rites (forbidden at that time, reason for which he was martirized). That's why he's considered the saint associated with love. Feb. 14 is the date associated to him by the R.C.C.
138221
We buy valentines day cards and flowers for our valentines (the commercial aspect) and we take them out or stay home for a romantic dinner (the romantic aspect).\n\nPS Did I forget to mention CHOCOLATE!!! :)
547784
if that is a holiday, i've never heard of it. i suppose all of us in the western world would should speak latin that day. in the east, chinese we be the most appropriate language
39243
I don't like Valentines Day, It usually reminds me of what I don't have.  Plus the people who really are in love it shouldn't matter to because wouldn't it be Valentines Day every day.
78566
Saint Valentine or Saint Valentinus refers to one of at least three martyred saints of ancient Rome. The feast of Saint Valentine was formerly celebrated on February 14 by the Roman Catholic Church until the revised calendar 1969.\n\nThe feast of St. Valentine was first decreed in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine— and Saint George— among those "...whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." The creation of the feast for such dimly conceived figures may have been an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia that was still being celebrated in 5th century Rome, on February 15.\n\nAccording to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the saint whose feast was celebrated on the day now known as Valentine's Day was possibly one of the three martyred men who lived in the late 3rd century during the reign of Emperor Claudius II (died 270):\n\na priest in Rome \na bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) \na martyr in the Roman province of Africa.
1170777
lol, they werent born on holidays.  We named certain days after them and made them HOLIDAYS.
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.
888251
The Origins of St. Valentine's Day\n\nA quick quiz: St. Valentine was:\n\na)  a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14.\n\nb)  a Catholic bishop of Terni who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II.\n\nc)  someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer's daughter, and was probably beheaded.\n\nd)  all, some, or possibly none of the above.\n\nIf you guessed d), give yourself a box of chocolates. Although the mid-February holiday celebrating love and lovers remains wildly popular, the confusion over its origins led the Catholic Church, in 1969, to drop St. Valentine's Day from the Roman calendar of official, worldwide Catholic feasts. (Those highly sought-after days are reserved for saints with more clear historical record. After all, the saints are real individuals for us to imitate.) Some parishes, however, observe the feast of St. Valentine.\n\nThe roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.\n\nPope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name.\n\nThere was also a conventional belief in Europe during the Middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age
178226
My middle name is Patrick, I think they created this holiday for me! (thats what my mommy told me)\n\nActually, it originated in Ireland from an old mythical tale- and YES, some DO celebrate it in some parts of Ireland.
788533
We say it as "Feliz dia de accion de gracias" \nNote: If by american holiday you mean USA, you need to get up to date with geography butterfly.
151795
Valentines Day is Not a National holiday.  Banks, governement offices, etc do not close.  \n\nThe holiday is for the purpose of selling things.\n\nCheck these two sites for more info.
97501
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.
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The association of the middle of February with love and fertility dates to ancient times. In the calendar of Ancient Athens, the period between mid January and mid February was the month of Gamelion, which was dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.\n\nIn Ancient Rome, the day of February 15 was Lupercalia, the festival of Lupercus, the god of fertility, who was represented as half-naked and dressed in goat skins. As part of the purification ritual, the priests of Lupercus would sacrifice goats to the god, and after drinking wine, they would run through the streets of Rome holding pieces of the goat skin above their heads, touching anyone they met. Young women especially would come forth voluntarily for the occasion, in the belief that being so touched would render them fruitful and bring easy childbirth.\n\nAccording to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1908), at least three different Saints Valentine, all of them martyrs and all quite obscure, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of February 14:\n\n    * a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom in the second half of the 3rd century and was buried on the Via Flaminia.\n    * a bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) also suffered martyrdom in the second half of the 3rd century and was also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than the priest.\n    * a martyr in North Africa, about whom little else is known.\n\nThe connection between St. Valentine and romantic love is not mentioned in any early histories and is regarded by secular historians as purely a matter of legend (see below). The feast of St. Valentine was first declared to be on February 14 by Pope Gelasius I in 496. There is a widespread legend that he created the day to counter the practice held on Lupercalia of young men and women pairing off as lovers by drawing their names out of an urn, but this practice is not attested in any sources from that era.\n\nIn the 19th century, relics of St. Valentine were donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland, which has become a popular place of pilgrimage on February 14.\n\nIn 1969, as part of a larger effort to pare down the number of saint days of purely legendary origin, the Church removed St. Valentine's Day as an official holiday from its calendar.\n\nValentine\n\nThe influential Gnostic teacher Valentinius was a candidate for Bishop of Rome in 143. In his teachings, the marriage bed assumed a central place in his version of Christian love, an emphasis sharply in contrast with the asceticism of mainstream Christianity. Stephan A. Hoeller assesses Valentinius on the subject : "In addition to baptism, anointing, eucharist, the initiation of priests and the rites of the dying, the Valentinian Gnosis mentions prominently two great and mysterious sacraments called 'redemption' (apolytrosis) and 'bridal chamber' respectively." [1].\n\nMedieval era\nSwedish calendar showing St Valentine's Day 14 February 1712\nEnlarge\nSwedish calendar showing St Valentine's Day 14 February 1712\n\nThe first recorded association of St. Valentine's Day with romantic love was in the 14th century in England and France, where February 14 was traditionally the day on which birds paired off to mate. This belief is mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's Parlement of Foules (1381). It was common during that era for lovers to exchange notes on this day and to call each other their "Valentines". A 14th century valentine is said to be in the collection of the British Library. It is probable that many of the legends about St. Valentine were invented during this period. Among the legends are ones that assert that:\n\n    * On the evening before St. Valentine was to be martyred for being a Christian, he passed a love note to his jailer's daughter which read, "From Your Valentine."\n    * During a ban on marriages of Roman soldiers by the Emperor Claudius II, St. Valen
909005
Yes.\n\nHolidays are days to celebrate special things and/or people.  But a valentine need not be a significant other.  It can be a child, a close friend or a family member who needs a smile. \n\nBeing single myself - I try to make it a special day for those that I care about - I will do something special with my son or for my elderly grandfather or my close friends, etc...  I don't let the day go to waste just because I don't have a significant other to dote upon.
121508
Nobody "cancelled" it - The Roman Catholic Church just didn't include it on their official calendar of feastdays that year.  And not because of consumerism, but because of confusion concerning its historical origins.\n\nhttp://www.americancatholic.org/Features/ValentinesDay/
470079
A.Did not understand a word of your question.B.Why did you put it in Valentines Day?C.Did Imension no one else will understand or answer.Work it out for yourself.