If you ask any young woman, she will tell you that Valentine’s Day is a special day when her sweetheart sends her flowers and buys her diamonds. Men will tell you it is the day they must remember to purchase a card, candy, flowers, and yes, jewelry for the lovely lady in their life. A school child will tell you that it is the day they have a party and get candy and little cards decorated with their favorite cartoon character or TV idol. Retailers will tell you that it is a bonus to their bottom line as they line the shelves with candy, cards, roses, and, yes folks, frilly nighties and other things you can give as a gift to that someone special. Cha Ching, and watch the cash register sing!

From the historian’s point of view, Valentine’s Day is somewhat of a mystery. It seems that there were up to three saints named Valentine according to the Catholic Church, all of whom were martyred. One dates back to ancient Rome and is associated with the idea that only single men could serve in the Roman army. The Emperor Claudius II put him to death for continuing to marry men bound to serve as soldiers. Another story suggests that Valentine helped prisoners escape Roman prisons.

There are a number of speculative notions on why Valentine’s Day is held in mid- February to remember the death and burial of Valentine. In ancient Rome, spring began at this time and was a time of purification. If this is the case, the norm of life today would frown upon the sacrifice of a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. What followed this action is really what nightmares are made of.

As the story goes, Pope Gelisus declared February 14th as Valentine’s Day at the end of the 5th century. Adding to the idea that mid-February was the beginning of bird mating season in France and England, it was seen as a day of romance.

Today Valentine’s Day is the second largest greeting card holiday with Christmas being the first. Women purchase about 85% of Valentines. The holiday is celebrated in the United States, Canada, the U. K., Mexico, France and Australia. In case you wondered, the oldest known Valentine is on display in the British Museum, and the first commercial Valentine’s Day card was produced in America in the 1940’s. Esther A. Howland created cards using lace, ribbons and colorful pictures.

Hopefully you will create a Valentine for someone special in your life. You really don’t need a holiday to write that e-mail, drop a card in the mailbox, or make a call to a friend, family member or neighbor just to keep in touch and say “I thought of you today” or “I love you.” For me, I will be looking forward to my puppy kisses from Suzie after work, dinner with my family, and if I am lucky, a Simply Caramel Milky Way.