The origin of Valentine's Day, it is believed, can be traced back to ancient Rome. In those days, wolves roamed the nearby woods and Romans called upon Lupercus he who wards off wolves to chase them away. Lupercalia was created and the festival to honor the god Lupercus was held on February 15th.
On the eve of the festival, it was customary for young girls to write their names on slips of paper to be placed in a box and drawn, then, by young men. The resulting couples would be paired until next year's celebration.
While this practice set the tone for today's holiday, it was not known as Valentine's Day until a man defied the decree of an emperor. Emperor Claudius II, who reigned from 268-270 AD, ordered that Roman soldiers remain bachelors. It was his opinion that marriage or betrothal would distract men, so that they would be unable to concentrate on battle.
Valentine, a Christian priest, defied the ordinance by performing secret marriage ceremonies. Eventually, though, he was caught, arrested and put to death on February 14th, the eve of Lupercalia. Before Valentine, bishop of Interamna, was clubbed, stoned and beheaded, he fell in love with the daughter of the jailer, Austerius. According to legend, the closing in his final farewell is one that has transcended time...
"from your Valentine".
He was later canonized and as Christianity achieved popularity in Rome, the day of the feast was moved to February 14th in honor of Saint Valentine.
In 496 AD, the Lupercian festival was outlawed by Pope Gelasius. The lottery, however, was continued, but instead of women's names in the box, there was placed in it the names of saints for the women as well as the men to draw from. Although slowly, the Romans eventually relinquished the Lupercian festival and replaced it with Saint Valentine's Day. On this day, the young men and women were expected to imitate the life of the saint whose name they had drawn.
As it had been established by the Lupercalia eve drawings, February was a time to meet prospective mates. While this was replaced, most of the young Roman men were not satisfied with the lottery of saints' names. Instead the men came to offer women they admired and wished to court handwritten greetings of affection on February 14th. These notes, given on a day that became synonymous with love, came to be known as Valentine's Day cards.