As February 14^th rolls around, the thoughts of many will turn to the celebration of Valentine’s Day. Believed to be a day to show your love for that special someone in your life.

A growing number of churches are organizing "Sweetheart Banquets", that special gathering of the year when the young people in the church pair off in a well chaperoned environment to celebrate this special day. A day of buying roses and chocolate candy to be given as a gift to the one who has stolen your heart. Oh, how romantic!

But how many of us are aware of the origin and meaning of this day of "love"? Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and see what we can discover.

First of all, the custom of exchanging valentines on February 14 can be traced to the English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer. He mentioned that birds began to pair off on that day. Although authorities differ on the actual origin of the celebration of Valentine’s Day, generally speaking, there are two major beliefs. The first is traced to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia and the second to one or more saints of the early Christian church.

The Roman festival of Lupercalia was held to ensure protection from wolves. During this celebration, priests sacrificed a dog and several goats in the Lupercal, a cave in the Palatine Hill. Priests made whips from the hides of the sacrificed goats. Two young men ran around the Palatine Hill striking women with the whips. The women gladly took the beating because they thought the whipping made them more fertile. Many link Valentine’s Day to this festival because of the date and the connection with fertility. [][][][]