One of the most likely candidates is a Saint Valentine who lived in Rome in the third century. Apparently the emperer Claudius concluded that single men made better soldiers than married men (since they didn’t have wives and families to worry about) so Claudius decreed that young single men could not marry. Apparently, St. Valentine objected to this dramatic pronouncement, and continued to marry young lovers in secret, until he was found out and executed.
In any case, the day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished, and it has been carried on ever since, into modern day practice.
The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "Valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The mid-nineteenth century Valentine’s Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that about one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year second only to Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase about 85 percent of all valentines cards sold.
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