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It’s the season of love and, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we’re going to dive into the origins of the day. Every February 14th, millions across the globe send their loved one's heart-shaped cards, flowers and Valentine's Day chocolates to express their love and affection, but where did this day originate from?   The history of Valentine’s Day is highly contentious and often up for debate. There are various accounts within history of the origins of the day of love – some more gory and violent than others. One account traces Valentine's Day back to 3rd century Rome with the execution of a priest named Valentinus known today as St. Valentine. However, the 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary recorded the celebration of the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14th.   It has also been suggested that the holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I forbid the celebration of Lupercalia and is sometimes attributed with replacing it with St. Valentine’s Day, but the true origin of the holiday is vague at best. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the "lovebirds" of early spring.  One final theory —and this is how Saint Valentine became affiliated with a love-focused holiday—Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, because of a Roman emperor's edict decreeing married soldiers did not make good warriors and thus young men could not marry. This Saint Valentine wore a ring with a Cupid on it—a symbol of love—that helped soldiers recognize him. And, in a precursor to greeting cards, he handed out paper hearts to remind Christians of their love for God. Because of this legend, Saint Valentine became known as the patron saint of love. The Saint Valentine prayer asks Saint Valentine to connect lovers together, so that two become one, and the couple remembers their devotion to God.  The day is popular in the United States as well as in Britain, Canada, and Australia, and it is also celebrated in other countries, including Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date. The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends. Many schoolchildren exchange valentines with one another on this day.  Here at D&S, we have a great selection of last-minute gifts to spoil your beloved. We’ve put together a handy gift guide to help you select the perfect gift in time for February 14th.