What is Valentine's Day? It is a holiday that happens once a year to commemorate love, friendship, and admiration. Every 14th of February, people celebrate it by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family, and friends.
How did it start? Valentine’s Day started because St. Valentine, who was an ancient Roman from around 200 AD, died for his refusal to stop marrying young couples, which at the time was against the law. He tragically died for his faith and is now a symbol of love. However, is this romantic holiday really as romantic as people people think?
Conspiracy #1: During medieval times, some people thought that the first person you saw on Valentine’s Day morning was your soulmate. People who didn’t want to be courted would wear masks or veils to prevent the “magic” from happening. Then, when they saw someone they could see as their potential partner, they would take off the masks and fall in love.
Conspiracy #2: It is believed that the holiday is a Christian cover-up of the far more vulgar Roman celebration of Lupercalia that occurred around the same time. Lupercalia honored the Roman god of fertility, Lupercus. It was celebrated with pagan sacrifices and rituals, so maybe it’s for the best that it was replaced with a holiday celebrating love.
Conspiracy #3: In the Dark Ages, Valentine’s Day lacked the romantic connotation it has now, so much so that people would associate it with mischief and havoc. One chaotic ritual was exchanging handwritten notes to express gratitude and admiration, similar to what we do today, except the notes were very rude. They would send letters that mocked and insulted the recipient. It’s a good thing we changed it to a kinder holiday.
Source: Nationalgeographickids.com