Nine interesting facts about Valentine's Day (Photos)

The verse Roses are red echoes conventions traceable as far back as Edmund Spenser's epic The Faerie Queene (1590):She bath'd with roses red, and violets blew,And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew.Valentine's Day even earns a mention by Ophelia in Hamlet:To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,All in the morning betime,And I a maid at your window,To be your Valentine.—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5The link of Valentine's Day with love is Chaucer's 1382 Parlement of FoulesFor this was on seynt Volantynys dayWhan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make."For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."9 photosView the full slideshow »
Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of early Christian saint Valentinus. According to legend, while imprisoned he healed the daughter of his jailer. Legend states that before his execution he wrote "from your Valentine" as a farewell to her.

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As Valentine’s Day approaches, here are some well-known, and in some cases new, facts about the popular holiday.

View slideshow: Nine facts about Valentine's Day
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, Charleston History Examiner

Lorena is a Charleston Examiner with a desire to spread the word about the latest and greatest happening. A native Charlestonian and world traveler, Lorena spends her free time studying languages and being in the company of good friends and great music.

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