Valentine's Day

Origin

Valentine's Day is an old tradition thought to have originated from a Roman Festival known as Lupercalia. It was held on February 15 as a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
During the celebrations boys would draw names of girls from a box and the pair would be partners during the festival.
These matches often led to marriage.
The festival survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed at the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St Valentine's Day.

It 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.

Who was St Valentine?

The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was.
The popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.

Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine felt this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.
When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown in jail and sentenced to death.
There, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "from your Valentine".

Meaning of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate romance, love and devotion. It is usually celebrated by giving friends, family and especially significant others flowers and gifts to show affection.

 

Characteristics of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is known by giving gifts or little presents to your friends or beloved people. It's a way to express love in a special moment.
Maybe the most known characteristics are gorgeous flowers and scrumptious chocolates; handmade carts and silk pajamas. These are a few items typically associated with Valentine's Day.

 

Valentine's Day nowadays 

Valentine's day these days is not as special as the beginning. I think big companies such as Coca Cola and others took this day to increase their amount of money. Nowadays it's just a marketing thing.

It's a pretty idea to give something special to your friends or your boyfriend/girlfriend, but I think it's not neccesary to have an specific day to do it, also, expensive gifts are completely unnecesary. If you love your partner or your family and friends, you will show your love everyday, not only one.