Everybody loves Valentine's Day. Well, everybody that has a significant other loves Valentine's Day. Either way, it is another excuse for people to spend all day eating chocolate, and who could contest to that?

Many think Valentine's Day is just a day commemorating Cupid and his little arrow of love, but there's a little bit more mystery to it than that. There is more than one Saint Valentine recognized by the Catholic Church, so, which one started the whole day of romance and flowers?

One legend of Valentine is he was a Roman priest who served during the third century. At this time, Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage because he thought single men made better soldiers. Valentine was appalled by this and thought it would be best to keep performing marriages for young couples in love. When the emperor found out about what Valentine was doing behind his back, he had Valentine put to death. Not the greatest end to a story about love…

It is said Valentine sent love letters to a young, blind girl from prison, whom visited him while he was there. Supposedly he signed each letter, "From your Valentine." Sound familiar?

While it is true that February 14th is the day all Valentines were martyred, some say Valentine's Day is in February because in ancient Rome it is the official beginning of spring, a time of cleaning and purification. The middle of February was also the time of a Christian fertility festival called Lupercalia.

Around 498 AD Pope Gelasius declared February 14th Valentine's Day. Later, in France and England during the Middle Ages, February 14th was believed to be the first day of bird mating season. (How romantic!) But that also added to the whole notion of a day of love.

According to the History Channel, Valentines Day became popular in Great Britain around the 17th century. Exchanging handwritten notes of affection became popular in the 18th century, and by the 19th century printed cards were available to send. Currently, it is approximated by the Greeting Card Association that one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide.

If you ever wondered why everywhere you look on Valentines Day there are hearts all around, it's because it's a belief in the Christain faith that the heart is the seat of all emotions, especially love. And since love is the dominant feeling of the day, the heart is now a great symbol of the holiday.

You may not know it, but there is a different side to the Valentines Day wonder. It is called Singles Awareness Day, also known as SAD. Although this holiday is usually celebrated on February 15th, it can also be celebrated on the 13th or 14th.

This holiday lets people know that it's ok to be single, and why not celebrate it?! The tradition is for singles to get together, go to dinner, bars, or even a movie. (It's usually preferrable that you get together with more than one other single.) However, other activities may include: sending yourself flowers/chocolates, planning a party for singles to mix and meet, or possibly sitting home alone eating popcorn and watching The Notebook. The choice is yours.

The holiday was originally created for February 14th, but who wants to celebrate being single on a day that celebrates love, relationships, and matromony? So for all you singles out there, work up the strenght to sit it out for one day and then CELEBRATE YOUR SINGLENESS!!