Although February 14 - Valentines Day - is celebrated as the lovers' day, with the giving of chocolates, roses or other gifts, its origins seem to be from in the fifth century, when the Catholic Church attempted to get rid of common pagan fertility rite that the Romans had been taking part in since the fourth century B.C.

The Fertility Festival celebrated a young man's rite of passage and involved animal sacrifices and fertility rituals. February 13, the opening day of Parentalia, was dedicated to peace, love and household goods.

February 14, the second day of Parentalia, was called the Lupercalia - a day some believe was dedicated to Juno-Lapa, the She-Wolf that is said to have nursed Remus and Romulus the twin brothers founders of the Italian capital city Rome.

During the festival, the names of willing teenage girls were placed in a box and drawn at random by the teenage men who were going through the rite of passage. The girl whose name was drawn would be assigned to that young man as his companion for their mutual pleasure for the duration of the year. When the year was over, another draw was held.

As Christianity spread the leaders of the Church resolved to do away with this practice by picking a ‘lover's' saint to replace the god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius. Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Valentine used to secretly marry young couples who, came to him. When Claudius found out about this, he tried to convert Valentine to paganism. Instead, Valentine reversed the strategy, and tried to convert Claudius.

When he failed, he was stoned and beheaded.