On February 14 the holiday Valentine’s day is coming up. Today, Valentine’s is a day people give chocolates and flowers to the people they love and care for. Even though no one can pinpoint the exact origin of this holiday, a good place to start is ancient Rome.

From February 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men would sacrifice a goat and a dog, then would whip the women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

Romans might also be responsible of the name of the modern holiday. Emperor Claudius II executed to men . both named Valentine, on February 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentines Day.

In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I mixed St. Valentine’s Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals turned into a more theatrical interpretation of what it used to be, but they were more drunk.

As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized Valentine’s Day in their work, and Valentine’s quickly gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards came in around that time in the Middle Ages.

In the 19th century the industrial revolution ushered in factory made cards.

Today, the holiday has big business. According to market research  Valentine’s Day sales reached $17.6 Billion last year