The History of Valentine's Day

Oh where does this Valentine's tradition come from anyway, you ask? Actually, the history of Valentine's Day is somewhat of a secret. The Party Girl loves secrets, and they're so fitting for this time of year. It seems that the ancient Christian Romans had something to do with it, dating as far back as the 3rd century. Romans held the parties of all parties, a festival on February 15th, called Lupercalia, in honor of the Roman god Lupercus. He kept mean and terrifying wolves away from people then. At any rate, one of the traditions of Lupercalia was for young men to draw the names of young women who would become their sweethearts for the duration of the festival, sometimes even for the whole year! That would not have bided well with the Party Girl, I tell you!

As for Valentine's Day itself, legend has it that an adventurous Roman priest named Valentine secretly married young soldiers to their betrothed at a time when Roman Emperor Claudius forbid them to marry for fear that they would object to fighting in his testosterone wars. Valentine was caught and punished by death on February 14th, the night before the Lupercalia festival. We think Valentine was beheaded-yuck!

Valentine made a love connection himself, before death, when he fell in love with a prison guard's daughter. Supposedly, just before his public torture, he left a note for the young girl thanking her for the time she spent with him and signed it "from your Valentine." Eventually he became the saint for romance-what a legacy! At some point, the Lupercalia festival and Valentine's death came to mean that February 14th was the international day for celebrating love.

Make your own Valentine's Day history by doing something special for your loved ones with the help of the Party Girl and Party411!

Check out our fun and exciting Valentine's Day personalized products and decorations.