Dating way back to the 5th century, Lupercalia was an ancient Roman festival that occurred from Feb. 13-15. In this annual celebration, men would use goat-skin whips to strike young women. They did this to avert evil spirits from entering their bodies in the hopes that it would help the women to become more fertile.

During this time, Roman Emperor, Claudius II, forbid young men to marry believing marriage weakened the men in his army.

One of the main features of the festival included a matchmaking game where men would choose women’s names from a jar and they would be paired together for the duration of the festival.

This matchmaking took place because of the prohibition of marriage.

Despite this, St. Valentine continued to marry men and women in secret. During one of the Lupercalia festivals St. Valentine was caught and executed for his crimes on Feb. 14. Thus the start of Valentine’s Day.

There is no way to prove the real history behind Valentine’s Day.  Obviously the tradition of Lupercalia stopped. Men no longer go around whipping women and they are no longer forbidden to marry women. Which begs the question, why do we really celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Some choose to believe it is to honor Saint Valentine for risking his life for love.

Today it is a boost for the economy. The holiday brings in ungodly revenue figures from the millions of boxes of chocolates that are bought, the bouquets of flowers, and all the sappy hallmark cards.

Valentine’s Day today is a celebration of romantic love for partners, spouses, boyfriend, and girlfriend type-relationships. If Valentine’s Day is not a set holiday, simply an economic gain, why can it not be about more than just romantic intimacy?

Sadly, more often than not, people forget to tell the ones they care about that they love them, whether it be romantic love or not.

Love is more than a romantic feeling, there are numerous types of love. The feelings one expresses for their parents is completely different from the affections one feels for their friends, and this is all different from the love ones’ feels for a significant other.

Most times, people today mistake lust, obsession, and attraction for love. When, by definition, love is a feeling of deep affectionate toward someone.

Valentine’s Day should not simply be about one’s romantic relationship and the adoration that they share. It should be about all the people that one cares for deeply. Love is felt on all kinds of levels, and it should be celebrated throughout any kind of relationship.

Feb. 14 should be a day for friends to tell each other how much they mean to them. A day when children tell their parents how much they appreciate them. A day when unrequited love becomes requited love.