Valentines Day History Valentines day is an old tradition thought to have originated from a Roman Festival known as Lupercalia. It was held on February 15 as a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman God of agriculture. During the celebrations boys would draw names of girls from a box and the pair would be partners during the festival, those matches often led to marriage. The festival survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed at the end of the 5th century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 ST. Valentines day. The St Valentine that inspired the holiday may have been more than one man, the saint officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Church was a real person who died around AD 270. An account from the 1400's describes Valentine as a priest who was beheaded by Emperor Claudius for helping Christian couples wed. The emperor had banned marriage as he thought single men made better soldiers. Valentine felt this ...