History of Valentine s Day
Like Halloween, the origins of Valentine s Day are rooted in paganism, specifically in a fertility festival known as Lupercalia, says National Geographic.
The festival – which was “wildly popular” until the fifth century AD – was celebrated annually on 15 February. It was customary for men to use whips fashioned from the skins of a goat or dog to spank young maidens in order to increase fertility - “an early form of IVF if you will,” says Tom Chivers in the Daily Telegraph.
Lupercalia was so popular that the young Christian Church was unable to stop pagans taking part, and so it eventually began to modify the festival into a Christian celebration, linking it to the legend of St Valentine.