Is the Meaning of Valentine's Day, What You Mean?

In Japan Valentine day stirs up not only feelings of romance, but of big business. For years the chocolate industry urged the public to give sweets as a token of love on February 14. Such advertising paid off as sales of chocolates increased.
Unlike the West, the Japanese custom is for women to buy for the men. But the business of Valentine Day does not end on Febeuary 14. One month later, on March 14, the men must reciprocate, with white chocolate. Why? The Daily Yomiuri answers: " The designation of white gifts prevents any stingy men from giving back the chocolate they recieved. How's that for business!

The average amount spent by Americans is up 23 percent from $81 last year, with spending on V-Day to reach close to $13 B according to the National Retail Federations 2004 Valentine Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

Feburary 14th is the day on which anxious romantics around the world wait to be told, "I love you." The roots of this most loved holiday can be traced back to ancient Greece, where the worship of Pan (a mythical half-man-half-goat fertility god) flourished. Pan had many love affairs with nymphs and goddesses. One sculpture shows Pan making advances to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Eros, the god of love, hovers above them flapping his wings, much like cupid found on Valentines today!

In Rome many worship a similar god named Faunus. He too was depicted as half-man and half goat. Worship of faunus was prominent at Lupercalia, an orgiastic festival that was observed each year on February 15. During this festival scantily clad men raced around a hill, brandishing goatskin whips. Women
who wanted to bear children stood near the path of these runners. Striking a woman with a whip, the Romans believed, would ensure her fertility.

According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, Lupercalia was abolished by Pope Gelasius I in the late fifth century C.E. Yet, today we find a modernday counterpart prospering under the title: "Saint Valentine's Day." There are various theories regarding the origin of the "Christianized" name. One story is, the third-century Roman emperor Claudius II forbade young men to marry. Valentine, a priest, married young couples secrectly. Some say that he was executed on February 14, around 269 C.E. In any case, a "saintly" title cannot conceal the unsavory origin of this celebration. Valentine day is rooted in pagan riturals, causing many to ponder the question. Is the meaning of Valentine's Day, what I mean?