St Valentine's Day, holiday dedicated to lovers. It is celebrated on February 14 by the custom of sending greeting cards or gifts to express affection to a chosen partner. The cards, known as valentines, are generally sent anonymously and are often designed with hearts to symbolize love. The holiday probably derives from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalis (February 15). Originally a festival for shepherds, it was celebrated in honour of Faunus. Its primary purpose was to secure fertility for the fields, the flocks, and the shepherds themselves. The festival gradually became associated with the feast day (February 14) of two Roman martyrs, both named St Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century, but about whom nothing specific is known. St Valentine has traditionally been regarded as the patron saint of lovers. An early reference is found in the works of Chaucer, who states that birds pair on St Valentine’s Day. The practice of calling oneself a “valentine” and asking one’s beloved to be the same, is referred to in the Paston Letters, the largest surviving collection of 15th-century English correspondence written by the Paston family and their neighbours in Norfolk.

http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761577116/St_Valentine

meh, valentines day = sheep

following evidence, copy and pasted from wikipedia .

Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th century by British settlers. In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received. Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary".

In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manners of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry.

from paper industry to chocolates and roses to diamonds. i didn't know salesmen were so desperate as to come out with this innovative shit ass idea of valentines day to promote their businesses.

In Korea, there is an additional Black Day on April 14, when males who did not receive anything for Valentine's Day gather together to eat Jajangmyun (Chinese-style noodles in black sauce). In South Korea, there is also Pepero Day, celebrated on November 11, during which young couples give each other romantic gifts.

drowning your sorrows in black sauce =o . the rich get richer, the poor get bankrupt on noodles and black sauce.