Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance, love, and kissy-face fealty. The origins of this festival of candy and cupid are dark, bloody, and and a little bit muddled. The exact origin of the holiday is one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by hitting them. From February 13 to 15 Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. Men sacrificed a goat and a dog to whip women with the hides of the animals they had just slain. Valentine's Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century. It is a festival of romantic love and many people give cards, letters, flowers or presents to their spouse or partner. People also display a romantic meal in a restaurant. Valentine's Day is celebrated in United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. Americans began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate Saint Valentine, who performed weddings for soldiers who were not allowed to marry. On Valentine's Day men spend double the amount of money on Valentine's Day gifts than women spend.