the bloody history of valentine's day

On February 14th, across the world, candy, flowers, stuffed animals and other gifts are exchanged. Valentine's Day is the day of love, but its origin cannot be pinpointed exactly.

Most students did not know where the holiday came from, but had very practical guesses. Junior Ella English said, "I think girls wanted to be appreciated by their husbands and called it Valentine's Day to appreciate their significant other."

Surprisingly, the history of the holiday of love is one of death and violence. When you're spending time with loved ones this Valentine's Day, consider the irony of how this story came to be on our calendars.

The Romans are widely accepted as the source holiday.

The Roman's celebrated the fertility feast of Lupercalia from Feb. 13-15. Goats and dogs were sacrificed and women lined up to be whipped with the hides of the slain animals, according to Noel Lenski, religious studies professor at Yale University.

"The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery in which young men drew the names of women from a jar," Lenski said. These couples were matched up for the festival, and if the match was right, fell in love and stayed together long after it.

Later, in the third century, Emperor Claudius II executed two men named Valentine. They were declared saints by the Catholic Church for their martyrdom. According to the History Channel, these men are commonly attached to the holiday's history.

When Claudius outlawed marriage to ensure he had more single male soldiers, Valentine was beheaded when he defied the law and married young couples secretly

Another Valentine was executed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. When he was discovered and jailed, he sent his love a farewell message: “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today.

NPR wrote that St. Valentine's Day later became combined with Lupercalia by the church, and the Norman holiday Galatin that translates to "lover of women", held at the same time, started to get confused for the holiday as well because they also sounded the same.

As the holiday spread, thanks to Shakespeare, the day was further romanticized in writing, and by the Middle Ages, paper cards and token were being exchanged.

In 1913, Hallmark arrived on the scene, cementing the tradition we know well.

Big Walnut students have mixed feelings about the holiday. Junior Dawson Chhuom feels the holiday comes with rewards for couples, but that it can loose meaning when you are single: "I think it's good so couples can have the day to go do something. Valentine's Day doesn't mean anything to me because I got cheated on."

Junior Olivia Buchs got to the heart of what the holiday is all about. "It's hanging out with the people you love and celebrating the relationship between you guys."

Even though these stories are dark, Saint Valentine became a sympathetic, heroic, and most importantly, a romantic figure.

Valentine's Day has so much more meaning behind it than just love and gifts. The history of this day is not completely clear, but it is a shocking surprise.

Let's make St. Valentine, our Valentine this year!