On Valentine’s Day in medieval times, choosing a sweetheart was literally in the luck of the draw. A girl might find herself paired up with the local buffoon for an entire year because he happened to draw her name in the annual village lottery. On the other hand, she might be joined with her heart’s desire – live happily every after.

But the celebration of this special day, sacred to sweethearts and greeting-card manufacturers alike, goes back much earlier. Its origins are a confused mixture of nearly 2,000 years of fact and fancy. Saint Valentine himself certainly existed. An early Christian martyr, he is said to have been beheaded on February 14, 270. What is not clear is how he came to be associated is probably accidental. February 14 was also the eve of the Lupercalia, an important Roman fertility festival.

Today, in the United States and England, Valentine’s Day is still very much a commercial occasion. Millions of valentines continue to be exchanged, and some collectors are willing to pay substantial amounts for old cards…For the foreseeable future, the celebration of Saint Valentine’s Day seems here to stay. Its namesake would probably be nonplussed.