Valentine's Day: The less-than-charming history behind the most romantic day of the year
From whipping women and sacrificing goats to Hallmark cards and hard-to-book restaurant reservations - why do we celebrate Valentine's Day?
Valentine's Day hasn't always been roses, chocolate and elaborate glitter-covered expressions of romance.
In fact, the history of the soppiest day of the year are muddled and have decidedly less romantic origins than you might expect.
Some believe the history of Valentine's Day has roots in Ancient Rome.
From February 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the festival of Lupercalia to promote health and fertility.
As part of the revelry, a goat and a dog would be sacrificed, after which their hides would be fashioned into straps. Running through the city, men - naked, or at least near-naked - would strike those in their paths with the straps.
Women, reportedly believing the routine would help promote fertility, would purposefully get in their way.
The two-day celebration included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar.
Later, the day was combined with St Valentine's Day, perhaps in a bid to expel the pagan rituals.
Eventually, the day became a little sweeter. It was romanticised in the works of both Chaucer and Shakespeare, who claimed it was the day that birds couple for the night.
Industrialisation brought with it factory-made cards, and it wasn't long before Hallmark began mass-producing Valentines in 1913.
Now, it's big business. Spending on Valentine's Day this year was predicted to be over £1.5 billion, with an average of around £50 per person.
Whether or not that's sweeter than sacrificial goats and public whipping - I'll leave that up to you.
