what is the history of valentine's day?

valentine's day has a long and varied history that many people don't know about. The celebration of the day has been traced back to an ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which was celebrated on February 15 as a fertility rite. During this festival, it was believed that the god of love, Cupid, would send couples his blessing and kindle romance between those who celebrated.

Over time, the festival evolved and the celebration of St. Valentine took its place. By some accounts, Valentine was a Bishop in Italy in the 3rd century A.D.. He defied Emperor Claudius II's rule against marriage — instead defiantly continuing to perform ceremonies among young lovers — leading to his execution on February 14th around 270 A.D.. This later evolved into what we now recognize as Valentine's Day because of its association with romantic love.

By the middle ages (1000 A.D.), Saint Valentine became synonymous with romantic love in Europe and England, where people began exchanging gifts like flowers or cards declaring their affections for one another – sometimes even anonymous ones! It was even believed that if you received a valentine on February 14th you'd be able to pick your true love by choosing one out of a pile of names in a jar.

Greeting card companies latched onto this notion and cemented it into popular culture for centuries: printing mass produced valentines for sale begun way back in the 1400s! By 1847 — thanks to innovative printing processes coming from England — entire stores had begun dedicating themselves to selling romantic cards by which lovers could express their fondness for each other on Valentine's Day and beyond