YOU: Cupids and Hearts

The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends.

The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15.

Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome.

When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers.

Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.