Valentine's Day: The Shocking Truth Behind the Romance! Before Cupid chocolates and red roses there were animal sacrifices wolves and couples chosen by lot. It has also been claimed that the Roman festival of the Lupercalia was the origin for modern-day Valentine's Day. Lupercalia was thrown in honor of both the fertility god Luperca and the she-wolf Lupus who nurtured the founders of Rome Romulus and Remus. The Luperci who were Roman priests would sacrifice a dog for purification and a goat for fertility at the beginning of the festival at the sacred cave where it was believed that Romulus and Remus were cared for by the she-wolf. Based on Roman texts at the beginning and at the end of the Lupercalia young men would race naked around the Roman circus and slap at women with a bloody hide. #valentines #valentinesday #love #romance #vday #history #worldhistory