Valentine’s Day is a special time of the year for lovers. People give chocolate, flowers and cards to their loved ones on February 14.

Valentine’s Day is named in honour of St. Valentine. He is the patron saint of love. He was killed in Rome around the year 269.

The custom of sending a valentine may have been started by St. Valentine. St. Valentine had his head cut off because he believed in Jesus Christ. It is said that St. Valentine left a good-bye note for a friend just before his death. The note was signed, “From your Valentine.”

It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that valentine cards were printed. More than one billion valentines are mailed in Canada and the United States each year.

When we think of Valentine’s Day, we think of Cupid with his bow and arrow. Cupid was the Roman god of love. He wasn’t real, but people thought he made them fall in love. Roman artists made drawings of Cupid as an infant with wings and carrying a bow and arrow.

People made up stories about gods and goddesses to help explain the things they couldn’t understand.

One of these stories tells how Cupid fell in love with Psyche. Psyche was the youngest of three sisters. She was so beautiful that Venus became jealous. Venus was the goddess of love. She was so jealous of Psyche that she sent Cupid down to earth to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly human.

Instead, Cupid fell in love with Psyche, Cupid brought Psyche to a hidden place, away from Venus. Cupid would visit her at night because he didn’t want Psyche to see his face. Psyche’s other sisters told her that Cupid was a horrible monster. This made Psyche want to see Cupid’s face.

Psyche looked at Cupid by the light of a lamp and spilled oil on his shoulder. Cupid left Psyche because he felt she didn’t trust him. Cupid later saved Psyche’s life. Cupid and Psyche married and lived together in heaven.

Are you a romantic person of just plain cold hearted? Test your memory by answering the questions below. Read each question and place a tick in the box next to your answer. Check your answers at the bottom of this page after you have read the story and answered all the questions. Count the number you have answered correctly and check the Love thermometer to see how you rate.