公元三世纪时，古罗马有一位暴君叫克劳多斯(Claudius)。离暴君的宫殿不远，有一座非常漂亮的神庙。修士瓦沦丁( Valentine)就住在这里。罗马人非常崇敬他，男女老幼，不论贫富贵贱，总会群集在他的周围，在祭坛的熊熊圣火前，聆听瓦沦丁的祈祷。古罗马的战事一直连绵不断，暴君克劳多斯征召了大批公民前往战场，人们怨声载道。

男人们不愿意离开家庭，小伙子们不忍与情人分开。克劳多斯暴跳如雷，他传令人们不许举行婚礼，甚至连所有已订了婚的也马上要解除婚约。许多年轻人就这样告别爱人，悲愤地走向战场。年轻的姑娘们也由于失去爱侣，抑郁神伤。

瓦沦丁对暴君的虐行感到非常难过。当一对情侣来到神庙请求他的帮助时，瓦沦帝尼在神圣的祭坛前为它们悄悄地举行了婚礼。

人们一传十，十传百，很多人来到这里，在瓦沦丁的帮 助下结成伴侣。 消息终于传进了宫殿，传到了暴君的耳里。克劳多斯又一次暴跳如雷，他命令士兵们冲进神庙，将瓦沦丁从一对正在举行婚礼的新人身旁拖走，投入地牢。

人们苦苦哀求暴君的劾免，但都徒劳而返。瓦沦丁终于在地牢里受尽折磨而死。悲伤的朋友们将他安葬于圣普拉教堂。 那一天是2月14日，那一年是公元270年。

另外的版本似乎没有这一个精彩。传说中瓦沦丁是最早的基督徒之一，那个时代做一名基督徒意味着危险和死亡。为掩护其他殉教者，瓦沦丁被抓住，投入了监牢。

在那里他治愈了典狱长女儿失明的双眼。当暴君听到着一奇迹时，他感到非常害怕，于是将瓦沦丁斩首示众。据传说，在行刑的那一天早晨，瓦沦丁给典狱长的女儿写了一封情意绵绵的告别信，落款是: Fromyour Valentine (寄自你的瓦沦丁)

历史学家们更愿意刨根揪底，他们关于情人节的演绎似乎令人信服。其实远远早于公元270年，当罗马城刚刚奠基时，周围还是一片荒野，成群的狼四处游荡。

在罗马人崇拜的众神中， 畜牧神卢波库斯 (Lupercus)掌管着对牧羊人和羊群的保护。每年二月中，罗马人会举行盛大的典礼来庆祝牧神节。那时的日历与现在相比，要稍微晚一些，所以牧神节实际上是对即 将来临的春天的庆祝。

也有人说这个节日是庆祝法乌努斯神(Faunus)，它类似于古希腊人身羊足，头上有角的潘神(Pan)，主管畜牧和农业。牧神节的起源实在是过于久远了，连公元前一世纪的学者们都无法确认。但是这一节日的重要性是不容置疑的。

例如史料记载，安东尼(Mark Antony)就是在公元前44年的牧神节上将王冠授与凯撒(Julius Caesar)的。每年的二月十五日，修士们会聚集在罗马城中巴沦丁(Palantine)山上的一个洞穴旁，据说 在这里，古罗马城的奠基者(Ro--milus andRemus)被一只母狼扶育长大。在节日的各项庆典中，有一项是年轻的贵族们，手持羊皮鞭，在街道上奔跑。

年轻妇女们会聚集在街道两旁，祈望羊皮鞭抽打到她们头上。人们相信这样会使她们更容易生儿育女。在拉丁语中，羊皮鞭被叫做 februa，鞭打叫做 fabruatio， 实际上都含有'纯洁'的意思。二月的名字(February)就 是由此而来。

随着罗马势力在欧洲的扩张，牧神节的习俗被带到了现在的法国和英国等地。人们最乐此不疲的一项节日活动类似于摸彩。年轻女子们的名字被放置于盒子内，然后年轻男子上前抽取。抽中的一对男女成为情人，时间是一年或更长。

基督教的兴起使人们纪念众神的习俗逐渐淡漠。教士们不希望人们放弃节日的欢乐，于是将牧神节(Lupercalia)改成瓦沦丁节 (Valentine's Day)，并移至二月十四日。这样，关于瓦沦丁修士的传说和古老的节日就被自然地结合在一起。这一节日在中世纪的英国最为流行。未婚男女的名字被抽出后，他们会互相交换礼物，女子在这一年内成为男子的 Valentine。在男子的衣袖上会绣上女子的名字，照顾和保护该女子于是成为该男子的神圣职责。

Valentine's DayFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaSaint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards or candy. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

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.[1] The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow.[2] The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.[3]

In the United States, the marketing of Valentine's Day has tagged it as a "Hallmark holiday." A recent trend has been to refer to February 14 as Singles Awareness Day.

HistoryNumerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days. The Valentines honored on February 14 are:

Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae): a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome. [5] and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae): He became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino

The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of 14 February. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.