There is a lot more meaning in Valentine's Day than you may think. It is not merely an innocent holiday where people devote one day out of the month to act extra loving. The origins of Valentine's are actually quite vile and filled with corruption.

The origins of Valentine's Day stem back to the ancient Roman celebration of a feast called Lupercalia.

This would take place every year in February around the same time as Valentine's Day. Lupercalia is a pagan festival. The term pagan refers to any individual or group that is heathen, especially one following that of a polytheistic religion. This was a rather common practice in ancient Rome where Lupercalia was originally observed.

In ancient Rome, the feast incorporated a variety of activities, many of which are incredibly different to what is modernly done on Valentine's Day.

During the event, animals were sacrificed and women were whipped. Women were thought to believe that enduring such brutality would make them more fertile when in actuality, that was far from the case. The men would take some of the skins from the animals and use them to hit any of the women who would come near them. The entire event would be considered barbaric and even animalistic if performed in modern times.

The event was no secret to the Christian church, who deemed the annual event a Christian Holiday in circa 496 during Pope Gelasius I's rule.

The exact origins of how the name "valentine's" came about is not completely clear. At least two men by the name of Valentine were executed, but the Catholic Church considered them martyrs and used the name Valentine for the day we commonly associated with romance today. Some sources say that Valentine was executed by Claudius II of Rome because he protested against the emperor's law that young men could not marry (as it would keep them from advancing as soldiers). Others claim that he was honored for refusing to give up his religion.

The practices performed on Valentine's day have evolved over the years, from era to era. Though it is no longer called Lupercalia, the origins still stand. Are you sure you still want to partake in a day that was originally devoted to paganism, the beating of women and animal sacrifices?