Wherever you look at this time of year you are surrounded by references to St Valentine's Day. Hearts and flowers in white, pink and red decorate shops. Magazines are filled with tips of what to buy along with stories of Valentine's Day disasters and triumphs.

This leads me to question of why we celebrate St Valentine's Day? Is it some ancient celebration with its roots far back in time before Christianity? It is named after a saint which suggests some religious origins; but who was St Valentine? Why was he made a saint? Besides it is a festival celebrating love and love is an important element of Christianity.

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In ancient Rome, before Christianity became established in the city, the fourteenth of February was the feast of Juno. Juno was seen as the Goddess of women and marriage.

The feast of Juno was followed by the festival of Lupercalia. This was in honour of Lupercus who was thought to be a God that watched over shepherds. Lupercus' festival was celebrated from the very beginnings of Rome.

Before Lupercalia the names of single females were placed in a jar and bachelors drew a name. The lady whose name they drew was their partner throughout the festivities.

The feast of Juno and the custom of Lupercalia suggest that St Valentines Day is a pagan festival, but in that case why is it called St Valentines Day?

One popular answer is that early Christians in Rome maintained the traditional Pagan festivals but changed the names from those of Roman Gods and Goddesses to the names of Christian saints. However, there are several tales concerning people referred to as Saint Valentine. Many of these tales suggest that if that particular saint had a feast held in his honour that it would be held in February, in some cases even on the fourteenth.

One tale tells of how in the time of Emperor `Claudius the Cruel,' marriage was forbidden as men were unwilling to go to war leaving their wives, families or fiancées. A man named Valentine disagreed with this and he married couples in secret. As a result he was put to death on the fourteenth of February in the year 270AD. The Bible instructs wives and husbands how to treat one another suggesting that marriage is desirable, for example in Ephesians 5:25 it states: "Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church." Therefore, it appears that Valentine was doing God's will, which resulted in him dying a martyr; in this case it is likely that there would be a special celebration to honour him.

A different story is that Valentine was one of the early Christian martyrs. While he was in prison he healed the jailer's daughter of blindness. Just before he was put to death, on the fourteenth of February, for this and other miracles, he sent a letter to the girl he had cured signed `from your Valentine.' In this way he is believed to have sent the first Valentine. This Valentine was also doing what would seem to be God's will as he was giving sight to the blind, as Christ did: Matthew 9:29_30 "Then he touched their eyes and said `According to your faith will it be done to you;' and their sight was restored."

It is probable that the feast of Juno and festival of Lupercalia were replaced by a celebration in honour of one or both of the Valentines described above, or in honour of another Valentine whose deeds aren't known.

A festival of love is a celebration in true Christian spirit as the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." It also says in 1 John 4:7 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

Perhaps this is what St Valentine's Day is: a celebration of Christian love derived from ancient Pagan origins, which has over time become masked in modern commercialisation and a series of quite quaint customs.

Charlie Ellis