By SUE ELLEN ROSS – Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Life may be just a box of chocolates, but what about the people opening that box? And why, exactly, are they eating them?

If the candy is paired with a sentimental card and flowers, it may be in recognition of St. Valentine’s Day.

People very seldom question the relationship of these items and the date of February 14. If they did, they would find that many theories and legends abound.

“I have no idea why we celebrate this day,” said Ronelle Smith. The LaPlace resident said she always thought this holiday, like many others, was made up by the greeting card companies.

Valentine’s Day, and its related activities, seems to have roots in ancient Roman tradition, Christianity, and quite a bit of folklore.

One tale of this ‘love’ day involves the story of a martyr named St. Valentine, which dates back to 269 A.D.

Early records of church martyrs named three St. Valentines at this time. Each of them hosted a Feast Day with their believers on Feb. 14. The third martyr was the last one to be executed, it is said he was the one that started the valentine card ritual.

While behind bars, this St. Valentine is purported to have fallen in love with his jailer’s daughter. Right before his death, he wrote a letter to her which he signed, “From your Valentine.” And, according to this tale, the rest is history.

Another popular legend that figures into February 14 is the feast of the Roman Lupercalia.

This fertility festival was celebrated in the middle of February to honor the pastorial God, Lupercus.

During the festivities, the names of young women were drawn from a box by the young men in the community. The pairs were matched for one year, beginning in March.

When the Roman Empire began to fade, Christianity came into dominance and changed existing ‘pagan’ holidays and traditions.

To Christianize the practice of young people picking names, it was changed to include names of saints. Whichever saint was chosen, the youngster had to emulate his values for an entire year.

That idea didn’t go over very well, and by the time the 14th Century rolled around, the boy-girl custom reverted back to its original form.

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The tradition of sending valentines to a love, or potential lover, goes back many years.

Prior to the 18th Century, colonists exchanged homemade valentine cards. The tradition stayed alive by the appearance of valentine ‘writers’ after 1723. These writers were booklets sent from England. They contained messages and verses that could be copied to fancy paper.

One popular writer listed not only ‘Be My Valentine’ messages for men to send, but also answers or acceptances that women could write back.

Decorations you would find on these cards were golden cupids, lover’s knots, and turtledoves.

Valentine cards appeared on the retail market around 1800. By 1840, low postal rates made sending the cards an accepted practice. Printed valentines were on their way to noble celebrity.

In 2004, millions of these special love cards are available for purchase. Ranging from humorous to the more traditional sentimental types, they can be found everywhere from convenience stores to outlet malls.

The opportunity to make greeting cards at home, on the computer, hasn’t dampened Valentine’s Day card sales at River Parishes stores.

“We are selling quite a few cards,” said Susan Sapir-Fields, of Courtney’s Hallmark in Destrehan. “Mostly men are buying them.” She alluded to the fact that some men may not have the patience or opportunity to sit down at the computer to make a card. They would rather just go into a store and buy one, she laughed.

Adding candy to ‘sweeten’ the deal; and flowers to show the ‘freshness’ of love, has evolved over the years.

Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers anymore. Singles, children, widows, and many others are included in the festivities. Evidence of this everyone-is-included atmosphere can be found at the Valentine’s Day greeting card section at any retail store.

There are cards for teachers, uncles and best friends. You will also find selections for grandparents, godparents and brothers and sisters. Many more, some that you wouldn’t even think of, are also on the racks. Examples of this are, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day to a Nice Neighbor’; and ‘Valentine Wishes to my Hairdresser.’ The greeting card companies are having a field day.

Some good news for those wondering if they will receive a card this Saturday: In the United States, Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas in the amount of greeting cards sent. Teachers get the most Valentine cards, followed by children, mothers and wives, and finally, sweethearts.