St. Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is a saints' day commemorating Saint Valentine. The day is named after at least three different saints, as recognized by the Catholic Church, who were martyred.

One story cites that Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. The emperor of the time, Emperor Claudius II, had decided that single men made better soldiers and outlawed marriage for young men. Hearing of this, Valentine defied Claudius and performed marriages in secret. When Claudius discovered what Valentine was doing, he ordered that Valentine be put to death. Other stories tell how Valentine may have been killed while helping Christians escape from Roman prisons.

According to another legend, Valentine was actually the first person to send a valentine greeting. It's believed that while Valentine was in prison, he fell in love with a young blind girl who may have been his jailor's daughter. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness. Before his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine".

Whatever the story, it's easy to see how Valentine, with his heroism and compassion for others, became one of the most popular saints.

In the United States, Americans probably began exchanging handmade valentines in the early 1700s. The first mass-produced cards of embossed paper and lace were sold during the mid 1800s by Esther Howland. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received.

Sadly, handwritten notes have largely given way to standardized greeting cards. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas.

Nowadays, the practice of exchanging cards has extended to include a variety of gifts. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry.