In 1415, the earliest written Valentines were composed by the Duke of Orleans, a Frenchman, who was imprisoned by the English in the Tower of London, according to one legend in the book "Valentine's Day" by Elizabeth Guilfoile. The Duke wrote Valentine poems while in prison.

Now, almost 600 years later, 900 million Valentine's Day cards are purchased annually, according to Time magazine.

Brian Price/FOR THE POST
Tarina Spratt, left and Yolanda Dickerson laugh at a Valentine's Day card at Debi's Hallmark on Court Street Wednesday afternoon. Sales are expected to dramatically increase in the remaining days before Valentine's Day.

Last year between Feb. 1 and Feb. 15, Debi's Hallmark Shop, 16 S. Court St., sold 4,273 individual cards and 214 packets of Valentine's Day cards. As of Feb. 7 this year, 1,111 cards and 45 packets had been sold, said Trinda Wilson, assistant manager.

Wilson expects sales to increase, especially on the days right before Valentine's Day, which is the biggest holiday of the year for the store. Last year, on Valentine's Day the store sold 532 cards.

"It'll be crazy," Wilson said.

Students buy the majority of cards and the majority of those are bought by women, she said.

"Men will wait until the last minute, while women have been buying all along," Wilson said.

According to one legend, Valentine's Day received its name from a Roman priest named Valentine who lived 1,700 years ago. At the time, Christianity was a new religion in Rome and Valentine taught it. Many stories surround Valentine.

One story recounts how Valentine married couples in secret under Claudius II's reign. Claudius II forbade young men to marry, fearing that if they were married and had homes they would not be wiling to leave and fight in battle. Some say since Valentine married these couples in secret, Valentine's Day is meant to honor love, according to Guilfoile.

Valentine also raised flowers in his garden, which he gave to children. When he was imprisoned for refusing to preach about the Roman gods, many of the children brought him flowers in prison. After he was put to death, people wrote each other letters expressing sentiments of love on Feb. 14 - the anniversary of his death. The people called these letters Valentines, according to Guilfoile.

Through the years, Valentine's cards have become a tradition, whether for children exchanging cards at school parties or for couples.

Senior Todd Burnett said he experienced some awkward moments on Valentine's Day when he received cards.

"You never knew how to take it if it (the card) said 'I love you' on it," Burnett said.

Even now, Burnett said he still makes cards for his parents every year.

"The most sentimental cards are the ones you hand-make and don't buy," he said. "They should be because you want to (give) not because you are obligated to."

When sophomore Laura Dean was in elementary school, she said the cards had special meaning.

"If you got the funniest one or the prettiest one, it meant that someone liked you," Dean said.