VALENTINE'S DAY PHONE CARD

Historians believe that Valentine's Day originated from an ancient Roman feast called Lupercalia. The Romans worshipped a god called Lupercus, who protected city against the wild wolves. Therefore the date of February 15 was celebrated as a festival in honor of Lupercus. Around the 3rd century A.D. there lived a priest named Valentine. Claudius II was the Emperor of Rome at that time, and in order to keep his army strong, he issued an order prohibiting soldiers from getting married. Claudius believed that his soldiers would be more effective as single man, without having families to worry about. In defiance of the Emperor the priest Valentine agreed to marry the soldiers and their beloved secretly. Unfortunately, Rome was a much smaller town in those days, and word travelled fast. When Claudius got wind of what was happening, he ordered that Valentine should be arrested and imprisoned. He was sentenced to death and beheaded on February 14, 269. Lupercalia celebration went on as before for many years. As time passed Christianity took hold on the world and the Romans moved the festival of Lupercalia to February 14, in order to honor Valentine instead of Lupercus.