The origin of Valentine's Day is once again rooted in the deep, dark, pagan past of Rome. It was the day of the Lupercalia, the day birds allegedly chose their mates, a day of lust and fertility. It also involved naked young men becoming extremely drunk, killing goats and cutting strips off their bloody skins ...they then ran through the streets, beating women with the strips. Any woman thus beaten would be pregnant that year. Early Christians, as they always did, tidied up the concept, making it respectable as the day of lovers. The Roman version actually sounds more fun.