Valentine's Day & Singles Awareness Day

The Legend of St. Valentine

The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?  . . .
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day   - The History Channel

History of Valentine's Day
The modern St. Valentine's Day celebrations are said to have been derived from both ancient Christian and Roman tradition. As per one legend, the holiday has originated from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalis/Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that used to observed annually on February 15. But the rise of Christianity in Europe saw many pagan holidays being renamed for and dedicated to the early Christian martyrs. Lupercalia was no exception. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set its observance a day earlier, on February 14. He proclaimed February 14 to be the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modern Valentine's Day honors. . . . http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/history_of_valentine.htm  The Holiday Spot 

The History of Valentine's Day

Contrary to what some may believe, Valentine's Day wasn't created by greetings card companies just to sell cards and candies. It's actually a church sanctioned holiday, as Pope Gelasius deemed February 14 St. Valentine's Day near 498 A.D.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/14/history-of-valentines-day_n_822911.html  - HuffingtonPost

Will You Be My Anti-Valentine?One person’s Valentine’s Day is another’s Singles Awareness Day (yes, the acronym spells SAD, and yes, someone has already thought to trademark it).The backlash against the romantic holiday with a murky (perhps pagan?) history has swawned a cottage industry of anti-Valentine's paraphernalia. . . . http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/will-you-be-my-anti-valentine/ New York Times