Every year on February 14th, couples, friends, and families in many countries give each other cards, chocolate, and candy.
In fact over one billion cards are sent for this day, second only to Christmas.
Children have big parties at school, families send each other cards, and couples might have romantic dinners.
What do you do if you are single?
Well Valentine's Day is not only for couples.
It's about love, remember!
Valentine's Day is your chance to be bold.
Is there a girl or boy that you secretly like?
Why not send them a valentine?
A valentine is a card with a message inside, like a poem or love letter.
You can decide if you want to sign your name or not.
So where did the idea of Valentine's Day come from?
In Italy about two thousand years ago, February 14th was a day to celebrate love.
It was the day that the queen of the Roman gods, Juno, was honored.
Juno was the god of women and marriage.
Young Roman women each wrote their name on a piece of paper and put it in a big jar.
Every young man in the town picked a name.
Then the pairs were partners until the next February.
Sometimes they married.
At one time, however, young lovers in Italy could not marry.
It was against the law!
Why, you may ask?
What could be wrong with people getting married?
Emperor Claudius II, the head of the Roman Empire in 270 AD, needed a big army because he fought many wars.
He did not have enough soldiers.
He believed single men were better soldiers than married men.
If you are married and have a family, you may not want to leave your country and fight in a distant land.
If you are single, you may like to join the army for an adventure!
Claudius needed more single men to be soldiers, and so he decided to outlaw marriage.
People were angry, but they could do nothing.
Claudius' nickname was Claudius the Cruel, and people who opposed him were usually killed.
One brave priest, whose name was Valentine, did oppose the emperor.
Father Valentine married couples secretly in his church.
He married many happy couples until one day he was caught.
The Roman guards took him away and threw him in a dungeon.
Emperor Claudius ordered his death.
While Valentine was in jail, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter.
On the last day of his life, he sent her a love letter with the message, From your Valentine.
In 489 AD, Father Valentine was made a saint by the Christian Church, and St. Valentine's Day was declared on February 14th.
Father Valentine's message, From your Valentine, is still written in many Valentine's Day cards today, 1,500 years later!
More importantly, Father Valentine's belief in the importance of love is still celebrated today between couples, families, and friends.
Who will you send a valentine to?