Every Year February 14th is celebrated as St. Valentines Day. On this day candies, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentines.

Now the following questions arise in my mind.
Why do we celebrate this holiday?
Who is this mysterious saint?

The history of Valentine’s Day is obscure and clouded by 2 different legends.

LEGEND 1 : The first legend began in Rome, when the Emperor, Claudius II, was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. “Claudius the Cruel” as he was called, was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their beloved(families). So, he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome!Then good St. Valentine,a priest in Rome around 270 A.D., together with his friend St. Marius, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.When St. Valentine’s actions were discovered, he was sentenced to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. But 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 on the 14th day of February, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed
“From your Valentine”
In 496 A.D. in the ancient Roman a festival of Lupercalia commemorated annually on February 15. On this Day, Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 a day to honor St. Valentine’s efforts.

LEGEND 2 : According to this legend, Valentine’s Day started in ancient Rome, on February 14th, a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. Then, the following day that is February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. In those days, the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, on the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Tradition of Valentine’s Cards : 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, in 1850s the cards start becoming popular when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, began mass-production of these cards. 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.