You may think Valentine’s Day, named for a Catholic saint named Valentine, is on February 14 to commemorate the saint’s birth or death.

Actually, today the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. And there are several legends surrounding the saints and explaining the Valentine’s Day story.

Some claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival.

According to Roman legend, part of early celebration included having young women place their names in a urn to be drawn by the town's bachelors. The two would then become paired for the year, often resulting in marriage.

Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. At that time the Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and was outlawed.

Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance.

Whatever the reason, for good or bad, we’re stuck with Valentine’s Day.

Some may feel the pressure of recognizing a loved one the ‘right’ way. For others, they feel sadness over the loss of a loved one, or loneliness from never finding someone to truly love.

Hopefully, for most of us, it’s a day to remember and celebrate romance.