Nearly all of us know about this special day on the 14th of February called Valentine's Day. But, how much do we factually really know?

The answer would be nothing. We know that it's the day of love, and nothing more.

Well, it is thought to be named after early Christian martyrs (people sacrificed because of their religion or beliefs), who were known as Valentine (the ones honored on the 14th are the Valentine of Rome and the Valentine of Terni), or a man called Valentine who secretly married Roman soldiers (who weren't supposed to get married while serving), but its new modern love-look and idea were created somewhere around the 12th century.

In fact, it looks like this day had some special meaning even from before; it is said it's the day when the marriage of the Greek Gods Zeus and Hera took place, and there have been many written pieces of work on its theme or love writings that mention it. And that just proves its relation to love.

But what kind of love? Are only couples allowed to celebrate this holiday, or may everyone? Friendship is a type of love, why don't friends celebrate it then? Or, why don't whole families celebrate it, since parents love their children and it's only right the children to love their parents, too? What is bad with that? It seems that many questions need an answer, but no one gives those answers; maybe even no one can, but we can always decide some things on our own.

For example, the holiday advertisements urge sending gifts as a way of showing your love to the one you love, but what are you allowed to send as a gift, what are you supposed to send, or what is a good gift? In the earlier years, it was like a tradition for people to send cards to each other, usually handmade ones, and that tradition has kept its place up till today. The reason for it would be that a lot of youngsters have started to celebrate this holiday in schools, and basically each new generation learns about it and automatically celebrates it, no matter if someone has a partner or if someone is alone. That's why Valentine's Day is the second biggest card-sending holiday after Christmas in the United States. (However, celebrating Valentine's Day is against the law in some countries.)

However, as time has gone by, the gifts given have changed a bit, too. Early gifts were simple — often handmade figurines, doilies, etc., or small pieces of candy, etc. More recently, people started sending perfumes, flowers (such as roses), chocolates, books, clothes, and literally everything that a partner or friend or family member asks for or wants. Thus, the holiday has lost a bit of its general idea: to keep the spirit of love and to help unite new couples. But there are good benefits from it, too: friends have started celebrating it, with expressing how much they love each other. At first sight it might look a bit boring or lame, but the love and the emotions of "togetherness" that this holiday bears in itself are just enormous.

It has heard a lot of critics too — mostly from those who are alone or just don't want to celebrate it, or object to it from religious beliefs. However, it appears that the celebration of Valentine's Day is probably here to stay — at least in most countries. For, it's basically a good day to do something kind for the ones you love. Even so, don't forget that love is like a pet which needs care through the whole year, and not only in one specific month, so if you want to save your relations, do try to celebrate Valentine's Day each day, just less with gifts and more with love.