Poor St. Valentine! While he was being beheaded, could he have imagined that

[Coventina]

the celebration of him losing his head would be a profusion of cheap stuffed animals and boxes of chocolates inundating stores?

(Not to mention the purchasing of sexy lingerie and millions of people "getting it on" in memory of his gruesome execution?)

Holidays are strange. St. Valentine's Day might be one of the stranger ones.

[rsdsharp]

1. Beheaded? I thought they used submachine guns.

https://m.

[SergeStorms]

2. The vast majority of people....

have no idea of the history behind St. Valentine. All they've ever known about it came from Hallmark greeting cards and television commercials.

Just another way to separate people and their money. $$$$$$$

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Ding, Ding

[debm55]

6. Thank you.

[Jirel]

4. Given that he likely never lived...

… and some pope or other created this holy-day to supersede Lupercalia, not to mention the mostly coincidental but horrific set of crimes against Jews committed on February 14th centuries ago, I’m happy that it can be a largely meaningless, silly, lighter version of Lupercalia again.

[Coventina]

5. Oh he definitely lived, although the problem is, too many of him lived.

Valentine was a really popular Roman name, and many early Christians had it.

So, the details of his hagiography could belong to any number of them, and not just a single man.

If only early Christians kept scrupulous records....like their Muslim brothers did.

But, maybe semi-legendary figures are more fun than the dry records of actual history.

[localroger]

7. Yes, Lupercalia was a fertility festival

I have an interest because it's my birthday lol. The whole holiday has much more in common with the Roman holiday (though the Romans were way more over the top with their holiday rituals) than with anything involving Christianity. Then again, evergreen and gift-giving elves at Christmas, bunny rabbits and eggs at Easter anybody?

[Elessar Zappa]

8. All religions have stuff from other religions, including the old Roman religion.

[localroger]

9. Oh, for sure, the Romans lifted their entire pantheon from the Greeks

But it's a little different when one syncretic religion borrows deities from another and a supposedly monotheistic religion lifts rituals and dates from pagan religions that have nothing to do with their god just because it greases the skids of converting more pagans.

[old as dirt]

10. Be My Valentine Charlie Brown: Handing Out The Valentines