বাংলা 
English 
Valentine's Day, or Saint Valentine's Day, is the day of an annual festival celebrated on 14 February amid love and affection. The day is observed in various countries of the world, though in most countries it is not a public holiday.
In 269, in the city of Rome in Italy, there lived a Christian priest and physician named Saint Valentine. The Roman emperor of the time, Claudius II, imprisoned him on a charge of preaching religion, because at that time the preaching of Christianity was banned in the Roman Empire.
While in prison, he cured the blind daughter of a prison guard through treatment. Envious of Saint Valentine's popularity, the king sentenced him to death. That day was 14 February. Then, in 496, Pope Saint Gelasius I declared 14 February Valentine's Day in memory of Valentine. The Christian world has many such days in memory of priests, saints and holy figures and in honour of their works. For example: 23 April – Saint George's Day, 11 November – Saint Martin's Day, 24 August – Saint Bartholomew's Day, 1 November – All Saints' Day, 30 November – Saint Andrew's Day, 17 March – Saint Patrick's Day.
In the Western context, whether it is birthday celebrations or religious festivals, consumption is the central matter in every case. That is why they do not refrain from drinking even inside the church. As the spirit of this Christian Valentine's Day was destroyed, the festival of Valentine was banned by the government of France in 1776.
In England, the ruling Puritans at one time too administratively declared the celebration of this day banned. Besides, the day was rejected at various times in Austria, Hungary and Germany. Recently, in 2017, the court of Pakistan too banned the Valentine festival as being against Islam. At present, this festival is celebrated in the West with great pomp.
In the United Kingdom, about half of the total population spends around 1 billion pounds on buying cards, flowers, chocolates, other gift items and greeting cards for this Valentine's Day, and an estimated 25 million greeting cards are exchanged.
