There are many different legends of how Valentine's Day originated. The ancient Roman's held a feast on February 14th in honor of the mythological Goddess Juno. During the feast, available women would place their names in a urn and then later on the bachelors would pull names from the urn and be paired up with that person for the year. Often at times, the paired couple would fall in love and get married. How about that for eHarmony ;)
Another Roman legend states that Emperor Claudius II, who was known for his bloody battles, was running out of soldiers. Yet, getting men to leave their families to join his army was posing a problem. Therefore, the emperor suspended all engagements and marriages in Rome, hoping to enlist soldiers. However, a romantic at heart priest named Valentine did not like what the emperor was doing. Thus, he began to secretly marry young couples. All was well until his plan was discovered by the emperor and Valentine was beaten and put to death. What was the date...? February 14th, 498 AD.
With all the legends around, my favorite is the simplest one. In the Middle Ages, France and England believed that with Spring in the air, the birds would begin to fly around looking for a mate around mid February. Thus, a celebration of love and romance was warranted as a Valentine's Festival on February 14th. In simpler times, couples would appreciate little love notes or receiving a flower.
Check out www.creativityatyourfingertips.weebly.com for some inexpensive ways to say 'I love you' and remember that it's not about money, it's about sharing your love.