Holocaust Timeline

January 30, 1933 - Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany a nation with a Jewish population of 566,000.

February 22, 1933 - 40,000 SA and SS men are sworn in as auxiliary police.

February 27, 1933 - Nazis burn Reichstag building to create crisis atmosphere.

February 28, 1933 - Emergency powers granted to Hitler as a result of the Reichstag fire.

March 22, 1933 - Nazis open Dachau concentration camp near Munich, to be followed by Buchenwald near Weimar in central Germany, Sachsenhausen near Berlin in northern Germany, and Ravensbrück for women.

March 24, 1933 - German Parliament passes Enabling Act giving Hitler dictatorial powers.

See also: The History Place - Rise of Hitler

April 1, 1933 - Nazis stage boycott of Jewish shops and businesses.

April 11, 1933 - Nazis issue a Decree defining a non-Aryan as "anyone descended from non-Aryan, especially Jewish, parents or grandparents. One parent or grandparent classifies the descendant as non-Aryan...especially if one parent or grandparent was of the Jewish faith."

April 26, 1933 - The Gestapo is born, created by Hermann Göring in the German state of Prussia.

May 10, 1933 - Burning of books in Berlin and throughout Germany.

July 14, 1933 - Nazi Party is declared the only legal party in Germany; Also, Nazis pass Law to strip Jewish immigrants from Poland of their German citizenship.

In July - Nazis pass law allowing for forced sterilization of those found by a Hereditary Health Court to have genetic defects.

In September - Nazis establish Reich Chamber of Culture, then exclude Jews from the Arts.

September 29, 1933 - Nazis prohibit Jews from owning land.

October 4, 1933 - Jews are prohibited from being newspaper editors.

November 24, 1933 - Nazis pass a Law against Habitual and Dangerous Criminals, which allows beggars, the homeless, alcoholics and the unemployed to be sent to concentration camps.

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Jesuit prist Leo O'Donovan offers invocation at Biden inauguration

 

Once feared as Vatican meddling, Catholic ideas could help America move forward

Religion News November 9, 2020

Americans once feared that Catholic politicians would push Rome's agenda. But in divisive times, we could do worse than implementing the Church's principles of reconciliation and multilateralism. 

 When New York Gov. Al Smith, the first Catholic to be nominated by a major American party, and John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president, ran in 1928 and 1960, respectively, many Americans feared that, if elected, the two would pursue a hidden Catholic agenda. These days, few fear the influence of the pope on a Biden administration. Indeed, in this time of division, pandemic, racism and global warming, we could do worse than implementing a truly Catholic agenda.

Trump visits the shrine of John Paul II

NY Post  June 2020

President Trump and the first lady visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Northeast Washington, DC, Tuesday, a day after Trump appeared at looting-damaged St. John’s Episcopal Church.

The president and Melania Trump walked from the building about 11:45 a.m. onto a large outdoor patio, turned and faced the assembled media and posed for a photo.

They then turned around and stood for several minutes before the statue of the late pontiff, where a wreath had been laid earlier, before walking back inside the building without speaking or taking questions.

John Paul II served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005, and was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in April 2014. The effort to erect the shrine was spearheaded by the Knights of Columbus, a lay Roman Catholic organization.

The Samoa Government is about to permanently ban all commercial activities on Sundays.

Talanei  June 2020

The Samoa Government is about to permanently ban all commercial activities on Sundays.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said on Radio 2AP last week that he had instructed the Attorney General’s office to draft a law to permanently close business activities on Sundays.

Under the current COVID-19 State of Emergency orders, all major supermarkets have been allowed limited opening hours on Sunday evenings except smaller shops who are allowed to open “normal hours”..

Tuilaepa also introduced a ban on beach excursions as well as swimming in public swimming places like rivers and public swimming pools.

He quoted the Bible and referred to the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah after straying into the ways of the devil.

“These are all clear in the Bible but these days other countries have legalized businesses such as prostitution,” he said.

He went on to say that currently his government was using the SOE Orders to do away with Sunday trading.

He said that people have been pushing to go back to normal Sunday trading but he said it is not going to happen and that all commercial activities shall cease on Sundays.

Fauci: ‘No doubt’ Trump will face surprise infectious disease outbreak

Archive January 11, 2017

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said there is “no doubt” Donald J. Trump will be confronted with a surprise infectious disease outbreak during his presidency.

Fauci has led the NIAID for more than 3 decades, advising the past five United States presidents on global health threats from the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s through to the current Zika virus outbreak.

During a forum on pandemic preparedness at Georgetown University, Fauci said the Trump administration will not only be challenged by ongoing global health threats such as influenza and HIV, but also a surprise disease outbreak.

“The history of the last 32 years that I have been the director of the NIAID will tell the next administration that there is no doubt they will be faced with the challenges their predecessors were faced with,” he said.

While observers have speculated since his election about how Trump will respond to such challenges, Fauci and other health experts said Tuesday that preventing disease pandemics often starts overseas and that a proper response means collaboration between not only the U.S. and other countries, but also the public and private health sectors.

“We will definitely get surprised in the next few years,” he said.

Anthony Fauci background: 

Fauci was born December 24, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York, to Stephen A. Fauci and Eugenia A. Fauci, owners of a pharmacy, where his father worked as the pharmacist, his mother and sister worked the register, and Fauci delivered prescriptions.^[2] The pharmacy was located in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn.

Fauci's paternal grandparents, Antonino Fauci and Calogera Guardino, were from Sciacca, Italy. His maternal grandmother, Raffaella Trematerra, from Naples, Italy, was a seamstress. His maternal grandfather, Giovanni Abys, was born in Switzerland and was an artist, noted for landscape and portrait painting, magazine illustrations (Italy) as well graphic design for commercial labels, including olive oil cans. His great-grandparents emigrated to the US in the late 19th century. Fauci grew up Catholic.^[2][3][4]

Fauci attended Regis High School in New York City where he graduated in 1958. He then enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross where he received a BS in classics in 1962. Fauci then went on to attend Cornell University Medical College where he graduated first in his class with an MD in 1966.^[2] He then completed an internship and residency at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.^[5]

^{1) Regis High School: is a private Jesuit university-preparatory school for Roman Catholic young men located on Manhattan's Upper East Side.[4] Annual class enrollment is limited to approximately 135 male students from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut tri-state area. The school is ranked as both the best Catholic high school in the United States and the best all-boys school in New York.}

2) College of the Holy Cross:  is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. Opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the Society of Jesus, it was the first Jesuit college in New England. Today, Holy Cross is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and is part of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC).

Putin wondering after the beast

The world is wondering after the beast of Rome

The representative of Satan

The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold the great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal power. He declared that the day of Christ should not come, “except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7.] And furthermore, the apostle warns his brethren that “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7.] Even at that early date he saw, creeping into the church, errors that would prepare the way for the development of the papacy. 

Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, the mystery of iniquity carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.  

This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of the “man of sin” foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power,—a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will.  

Satan once endeavored to form a compromise with Christ. He came to the Son of God in the wilderness of temptation, and, showing him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, offered to give all into his hands if he would but acknowledge the supremacy of the prince of darkness. Christ rebuked the presumptuous tempter, and forced him to depart. But Satan meets with greater success in presenting the same temptations to man. To secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the favor and support of the great men of earth, and having thus rejected Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the representative of Satan,—the bishop of Rome.  

It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than this, the pope has arrogated the very titles of Deity. He styles himself “Lord God the Pope,” assumes infallibility, and demands that all men pay him homage. Thus the same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of temptation is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast numbers are ready to yield him homage.  

But those who fear and reverence God meet this Heaven-daring assumption as Christ met the solicitations of the wily foe: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” [Luke 4:8.] God has never given a hint in his Word that he has appointed any man to be the head of the church. The doctrine of papal supremacy is directly opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures. The pope can have no power over Christ's church except by usurpation.  

Romanists have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of heresy, and willful separation from the true church. But these accusations apply rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the banner of Christ, and departed from “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” [Jude 3.]                GC88 50,51.

Washington in the Lap of Rome

James Japan

Adventists leaders sounding like Rome

Adventist Jul 10, 2018

Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty leaders were invited by the Colombian government to help celebrate the country’s third annual National Religious Freedom Day, held July 4. During a morning meeting at Casa La Giralda, headquarters of Colombia’s Ministry of the Interior, Dr. Ganoune Diop, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist world church, addressed more than 100 religious and political leaders who had gathered to mark the occasion. 

“You have the opportunity to make a historic contribution to peace by recognizing human dignity as the essential foundation for building a peaceful coexistence,” Dr. Diop told the group, which included Evangelicals, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and representatives of other faiths. 

German Catholic bishops plan to allow some Protestants to cake Communion in their churches.

EF  19 April 2018

The German Catholic Episcopal Conference, headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, approved in its February gathering a proposal that has sparked a huge theological debate. 

The 62 German bishops have voted to produce a guide on how to allow Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion. 

This non-Catholic spouses in “mixed marriages” could access the Catholic rite if they “affirm the Catholic Eucharist”. 

The Intercommunion, the bishops said, would be a solution for cases in which “the spiritual hunger to receive Communion together (…) is so strong that it could threat the marriage and the faith”. 

PROTESTANT CHURCH WELCOMES PROPOSAL 

The President of the German Protestant Church (EKD), Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, welcomed the announcement as “an important step in our ecumenical path”. 

Bedford-Strohm and his Catholic counterpart Reinhard Marx have been very proactive in sending pro-ecumenical messages during the commemoration of the 500 anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, in 2017, with calls to “heal the wounds of the past” and advance to stronger “unity” among the two Church institutions. 

STRONG CRITICISM OF SOME BISHOPS 

The open door for Protestants has been challenged by important Catholic sectors in Germany. Among them, seven German bishops that have written an open letter expressing their opposition to what they define as a “Protestantisation of the Church”. 

In interviews with the media, some of the signatories have criticised what they believe is a “banalisation” of the “holiest Sacrament” of Catholicism. 

Protestant taking part in the Communion would ‘de facto’ contradict the Protestant doctrines and its view of the Lord’s Supper. These bishops called the Vatican and Pope Francis to step into the debate. 

Catholic media have reported in the last days that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would have sent a letter to the German conference asking to pause the proposal. It is not expected, though, that Rome will express this position publicly. 

EVANGELICALS SEE ECUMENIAL STRATEGY 

Evangelical leaders have also reacted with surprise to the moves towards Intercommunion. In an interview with German news agency Idea, evangelical theology professor Ulrich Körtner said it would be difficult for a Protestant believer to accept the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist, which “includes the veneration of Mary as the Mother of God, and the intercession of the Apostles, martyrs and saints”. 

The decision of the German Episcopal Conference can be understood as a strategy to attract Protestants to the Catholic liturgy. “I would not be surprised that someday other ecumenical formulas are presented to us to try to sell us that high prayers of the Catholic Eucharist are evangelical”.

French president Emmanuel Macron has declared he will govern France like Jupiter, the Roman king of the gods

by Jack Montgomery4 Jul 2017

Summoning over 900 politicians from both houses of the French parliament to a rare Congress at the palace of Louis XIV – the ‘Sun King’ – in Versailles, he threatened to overrule lawmakers with a referendum if they try to frustrate the “reforms” he wishes to impose on the legislature. Such assemblies are usually reserved for times of national crisis.

Reuters reports him as saying he desires to reign as a “Jupiterian” president – “a remote, dignified figure, like the Roman god of gods, who weighs his rare pronouncements carefully".

This bizarre statement of intent comes just days after Macron scrapped the president’s traditional Bastille Day press conference, with an Elysée Palace official claiming the 39-year-old’s thoughts are “too complex” for journalists.

Macron’s “complex thought process lends itself badly to the game of question-and-answer with journalists”, the spokesman explained – prompting much mockery in the French press.

It has been speculated that Macron is keen to cultivate an aloof, almost imperial aura after being derided as a placeman for the unpopular socialist François Hollande, in whose government he served as economy minister, or as a poodle for Angela Merkel, the German chancellor widely regarded as the European Union’s driving force.

“You are the heir of François Hollande,” scoffed nationalist rival Marine Le Pen during their head-to-head election debate. “We now call you Baby Hollande; Hollande Junior!”

She added that, whatever the outcome of the election, “France will be led by a woman: either me or Mrs. Merkel.”

Much of the commentary on Macron’s alleged natural submissiveness hints at his relationship with his wife – twenty-five years his senior – with Italy’s larger-than-life former president Silvio Berlusconi teasing that he is “a nice lad with a good-looking mum”.

Efforts by the EU loyalist to strengthen his public standing by picking fights with the governments of Central Europe, who have been resolutely defiant in the face of attempts by Brussels to impose compulsory migrant quotas on them, have been less than successful.

Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán gently dismissed him as “a new boy” who had yet to find his feet.

“Macron’s entrance wasn’t too encouraging, as he thought the best way to show friendship was to immediately kick Central European countries. This isn’t how we do things around here, but he’ll soon get to know his way around,” he added.

Posing as the EU’s champion against President Donald Trump has also backfired, with a pointed, public snub of the U.S. leader in favour of Angela Merkel and other Europeans at a NATO summit ending in embarrassment when the 70-year-old manhandled him with a powerful handshake.

Macron was clearly rattled by the exchange, granting a brief interview with journalists in order to emphasise that another handshake with President Trump – in which the Frenchman clung on for dear life – was a “moment of truth” in which he supposedly demonstrated that he “would not make small concessions, not even symbolic ones”.       Breitbart

A desperate push for a cashless society

Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years.

Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. In those countries where Catholicism is not in the ascendancy, and the papists are taking a conciliatory course in order to gain influence, there is an increasing indifference concerning the doctrines that separate the reformed churches from the papal hierarchy; the opinion is gaining ground that, after all, we do not differ so widely upon vital points as has been supposed, and that a little concession on our part will bring us into a better understanding with Rome. The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed!

The defenders of the papacy declare that the church has been maligned, and the Protestant world are inclined to accept the statement. Many urge that it is unjust to judge the church of today by the abominations and absurdities that marked her reign during the centuries of ignorance and darkness. They excuse her horrible cruelty as the result of the barbarism of the times and plead that the influence of modern civilization has changed her sentiments...

The papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility. All that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her dogmas she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same acts, should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now imposed by secular governments be removed and Rome be reinstated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and persecution.    GC pp. 563,564

Do All Roads Really Lead To Rome?

Brexit is about Rome

Roger Oakland- Road To Babylon

Charles Chiniquy: The LORD's Faithful Witness to the Harlotry of Rome

By Tom Stewart
A testimony of the love of God "to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by [Christ Jesus]" (Hebrews 7:25), and a faithful warning to the Church of Jesus Christ concerning the treacheries of the Harlot Church of Rome, is the life of Charles Chiniquy. As a French Canadian youth, Chiniquy was given the gift of his love for the Word of God by his unconventionally Roman Catholic parents, even though Scripture in the common tongue had been expressly forbidden by the Council of Trent. Without his knowledge, the seeds of Protestantism had been effectively sown in him, as desired by the blessed translating efforts of both John Wycliffe and William Tyndale. "But he that received Seed into the good ground is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty" (Matthew 13:23). 

Why all the commotion about Protestants historically encouraging the reading of the Word of God, when both Catholics and Protestants may freely read-- but generally ignore-- the Scriptures today? "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Because the Word of God does not benefit anyone unless it is believed. "For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Hebrews 4:2). Worse, too many are oblivious to their false sense of security in a Deceptive Faith that has not the works of Love. "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by Love" (Galatians 5:6). [Please read our article, "Is Faith the Only Condition for Eternal Salvation? Or, The Biblical Doctrine of Justification by Faith " -- http://Whatsaiththescripture.com/Fellowship/Is.Faith.the.Only.Conditio.html --, for an important clarification of this often misinterpreted concept.] 

Chiniquy aspired to the priesthood of Rome, but his joy of being ordained a priest of Rome became "as if a thunderbolt had fallen upon me when I pronounced the awful oath which is required from every priest: 'I will never interpret the Holy Scriptures except according to the unanimous consent of the Holy Fathers' " (excerpt from Chiniquy' s "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome"). How unlike Rome's oath is the Scripture, "20 But ye have an Unction [Greek, chrisma] from the Holy One, and ye know all things. But the Anointing [Greek, chrisma, or unction] which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same A nointing teacheth you of all things, and is Truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him" (1John 2:20,27)! 

As a proponent of total abstinence from alcoholic beverages, he was vehemently opposed by his drunken fellow priests. "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre" (Titus 1:7). He was horrified at the liberties taken by the priests of Rome, especially with their female confessors, who were required to confess their most intimate faults to the ears of a man, in the name of Auricular Confession. "For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret" (Ephesians 5:12). He led an effort to bring Catholicism to the United States by bringing in a large colony of French Canadian Catholics to the state of Illinois. Attacked by jealous priests, Chiniquy was compelled to require the services of Abraham Lincoln, who ably defeated the Jesuits in open court battle; however, as Chiniquy warned, the Jesuits would not forgive or forget their wound. Chiniquy later demonstrated that Lincoln's assassination in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth was carefully orchestrated by a conspiracy of Jesuit-Catholic accomplices. "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices (2Corinthians 2:11). 

Suffice it to say that Chiniquy's breaking into the full freedom and liberty of the Gospel was aided by the whale vomiting its unwanted meal. Rome ultimately ex communicated Chiniquy, but not before he gave his resignation. The bishop "answered angrily: 'Mr. Chiniquy, I am your superior, I do not want to argue with you. You are inferior: your business is to obey me. Give me at once an act of submission, in which you will simply say that you and your people will subm it yourselves to my authority, and promise to do anything I will bid you.' I calmly answered: 'What you ask me is not an act of submission, it is an act of adoration. I do absolutely refuse to give it.' 'If it be so, sir,' he answered, 'you can no longer be a Roman Catholic priest.' I raised my hands to heaven, and cried with a loud voice: 'May God Almighty be forever blessed'" (excerpt from Chiniquy's "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome"). "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Romans 9:16). 

Chiniquy returned to his room to contemplate the enormity of his situation. Taking his New Testament, he glanced providentially at these words, "Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men" (1Corinthians 7:23). Gospel Salvation now became very plain to this former priest. "Strange to say! Those words came to my mind, more as a light than an articulated sound. They suddenly but most beautifully and powerfully gave me, as much as a man can know it, the knowledge of the great mystery of a perfect salvation through Christ alone. They at once brought a great and delightful calm to my soul. I said to myself: 'Jesus has bought me, then I am His; for when I have bought a thing it is mine, absolutely mine! Jesus has bought me! I, then, belong to Him! He alone has a right over me. I do not belong to the bishops, to the popes, not even to the church, as I have be en told till now. I belong to Jesus and to Him alone! His Word must be my guide, and my light by day and by night. Jesus has bought me,' I said again to myself; 'then He has saved me! and if so, I am saved, perfectly saved, for ever saved! for Jesus cannot save me by half. Jesus is my God; the works of God are perfect. My salvation must, then, be a perfect salvation. But how has He saved me? What price has He paid for my poor guilty soul?' The answer came as quickly as lightning: 'He bought you with His blood shed on the cross! He saved you by dying on Calvary!'" (Chiniquy's emancipating thoughts from his "Fifty Years in the Church of Rome").        

Dedication:

TO THE BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND PEOPLE OF ROME this book is also dedicated. In the name of your immortal souls, I ask you, Roman Catholics, to read this book. By the mercy of God, you will fine, in its pages, how you are cruelly deceived by your vain and lying traditions. You will see that is not through your ceremonies, masses, confessions, purgatory, indulgences, fastings, ect., you are saved. You have nothing to do but to believe, repent, and love. Salvation is a gift! Eternal life is a gift! Forgiveness of sin is a gift! Christ is a gift!

Fifty Years In The Church Of Rome p. 2, 3 & 6

The Dark, Bloody and Muddled Origins Of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled.

i

A drawing depicts the death of St. Valentine — one of them, anyway. The Romans executed two men by that name on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.

Those Wild And Crazy Romans

From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

The Roman romantics "were drunk. They were naked," says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.

The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival — or longer, if the match was right.

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. Lenski adds, "It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn't stop it from being a day of fertility and love."

Around the same time, the Normans celebrated Galatin's Day. Galatin meant "lover of women." That was likely confused with St. Valentine's Day at some point, in part because they sound alike.

i

William Shakespeare helped romanticize Valentine's Day in his work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe.

Perry-Castañeda Library, University of Texas

Shakespeare In Love

As the years went on, the holiday grew sweeter. Chaucer and Shakespeare romanticized it in their work, and it gained popularity throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Handmade paper cards became the tokens-du-jour in the Middle Ages.

Eventually, the tradition made its way to the New World. The industrial revolution ushered in factory-made cards in the 19th century. And in 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo., began mass producing valentines. February has not been the same since.

Today, the holiday is big business: According to market research firm IBIS World, Valentine's Day sales reached $17.6 billion last year; this year's sales are expected to total $18.6 billion.

But that commercialization has spoiled the day for many. Helen Fisher, a sociologist at Rutgers University, says we have only ourselves to blame.

"This isn't a command performance," she says. "If people didn't want to buy Hallmark cards, they would not be bought, and Hallmark would go out of business."

And so the celebration of Valentine's Day goes on, in varied ways. Many will break the bank buying jewelry and flowers for their beloveds. Others will celebrate in a SAD (that's Single Awareness Day) way, dining alone and binging on self-gifted chocolates. A few may even be spending this day the same way the early Romans did. But let's not go there.                NPR