Valentine's Day with a reference librarian

Valentine's Day began as the feast of Lupercalia, celebrated on Feb. 15 and dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture. Among other rites, strips of goat hide were dipped in sacrificial (goat) blood and slapped on the fields to promote a fertile harvest.

In the 5th century, the Pope outlawed this feast, and replaced it with one celebrated on Feb. 14 -- Valentine's Day -- to honor three martyred saints named Valentinus, each of whom has a romantic legend attached. One Valentinus was said to have continued to perform marriages for young soldiers after the Roman Emperor decided that soldiers were more effective single. Maybe this is the origin of the saying "If the Army wanted you to have a wife, it would have issued you a wife."

Written valentine wishes began to appear after 1400. The oldest known valentine is a poem written in 1415 by the Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Valentine's Day is celebrated in the United States (the first mass-produced valentines were printed here in the 1840s), and also in Mexico, Canada, Australia, France and Great Britain.

Over 1 billion valentine cards are now sent each year. Unsurprisingly, statistics show that 85 percent of valentines are purchased by women ...

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Information courtesy of history.com; post by Melissa)