Where Does Valentines Day Come From?
There is a lot of speculation about the origins of Valentines day, and much disagreement, unfortunately. So for those looking to understand about where Valentines day comes from, here are a few of the many theories. 
Many believe that Valentines day came from the time of St Valentine, or Valentinus, a Roman who was martyred in 269 AD, it is believed on February 14th, for refusing to give up Christianity. It is said that he had become enamored with his jailers daughter and left a love letter for her to find after his death, signed “from your Valentine”.
Unfortunately it is not entirely clear who St Valentine was. There are a number of martyrs who could have been St Valentine. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that St Valentine could have been one of at least 3 martyred men, all Romans, who carried the name Valentinus, a reasonably common name at the time. Some say there are many martyrs who could have been St Valentine.
Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine’s Days. These days recognised a range of martyrs, all named Valentine, or Valentinus. However in 1969 the church dropped St Valentines day from the Roman calender of worldwide Catholic feasts, presumeably because of the confusion and doubt surrounding the origins of the day and the exact identity of St Valentine.
It is not even entirely clear the exact year that St Valentine was martyred, although most accounts suggest it was 269 AD or thereabouts during the reign of Emperor Claudius II who died in 270 AD.
It is known that the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15, did occur, and did so for many centuries. At the time of the festival a young Roman man would get to draw the name of a young woman from a lottery and got keep her as a sexula companion for a year.
It is some time later that Valentines day became associated with romantic love, particularly in the time of Chaucer in the late 1300s, who made much of the day in his poems.
And it is also believed during the middle ages in Europe that the middle of February was the time that birds chose their partners.
Eventually though [tag-tec]Valentines day[/tag-tec], or February 14th, became a day associated with new romantic love, and a time for lovers to celebrate their love, or for those smitten with someone who is unaware of the fact to alert them.
It became a day of exchange of love letters and gifts, and is now one of the most highly commercialised days in the US calendar. The numbers of gift cards, letters, tokens and gifts exchanged is astronomical, counted in the billions. Valentines day is the day when florists sell more flowers than any other day in the calendar.
For those looking to find out more specifics about the origins of Valentines day and the legends surrounding it read this page at Wikipedia. It’s hard going, but tells you all the details of the various characters and legends surrounding the day. For those not so interested in the details, just enjoy the day.
It doesn’t really matter where Valentines day came from as long as you make it one of your favorite days.
And here's a few more hot mens gifts suggestions:
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