SOME TRIVIAL FACTS, FROM CUPID WITH LOVE.

Valentine's Day dates back to the Feast of St. Valentine, who was beheaded on Feb. 14 under orders of Roman Emperor Claudius II because he would secretly marry people forbidden to wed. St. Valentine is now referred to as the patron saint of lovers.

Until the 19th century, valentines were handwritten love letters. Nonpoetic lovers often relied on free-lance poets or books filled with verses meant to be copied.

Women are traditionally the recipients of gifts on Valentine's Day, but in the last 50 years it's become an equal opportunity holiday, so it's OK to send him flowers. In fact, according to a recent survey by Bruskin/Goldring Research for the Society of American Florists, 61 percent of men of all ages would like to receive flowers from a woman on Valentine's Day.

Cupid was the Roman god of love who went around shooting people with his magic arrows, causing them to fall in love. Once a handsome young man, his image changed over the years until he became the chubby, naked infant with wings he is today.

Red roses are the traditional Valentine's Day choice, because they signify true love, say florists. If you're fond of the person, but not madly in love, send pink roses, but avoid yellow as they signify a decrease in love. An alternative is a big bouquet of white daisies, which represent innocence and loyal love, and cost a lot less money.

In Great Britain and Italy, young unmarried women get up before sunrise on Valentine's Day and stand by their window watching for a man to pass. According to tradition, the first man they see will marry them within a year, hence that line in Shakespeare's ``Ophelia'' that begins, ``Good morrow! Tis St. Valentine's Day ...''

Fine jewelry is a popular gift for Valentine's Day, but you need to know the message you're sending. According to the Italian Jewelry Center in Los Angeles, diamonds represent innocence; rubies signal contentment; garnets are for constancy; pearls for good health; topaz for fidelity; amethyst for sincerity; emeralds for love and safety in childbirth, and peridots for marital happiness.

In Denmark people send pressed white flowers called snowdrops to their friends instead of roses and candy.

Valentine's Day is supposed to be the day birds choose their mates. That's why you often see doves and bluebirds on greeting cards.

In the 1700s, unmarried women pinned five bay leaves to their pillows on the eve of Valentine's Day to see their future husbands in their dreams. If you're trying it, pin one in the middle, and one on each corner of the pillow. Hint: Use safety pins.

Doilies, the mainstay of traditional valentines, were invented by the London stationery firm of Joseph Addenbrooke in the 1830s, according to ``Mrs. Sharp's Traditions'' (Simon & Schuster; $29.95) by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

Esther Howland of Worcester, Mass., created the first commercial Valentines in 1847. They were elaborately decorated with jewels, feathers and shells and cost as much as $10 each - an outrageous fortune for a lover to spend in those days. P.S.: The Victorians, credited with making Valentine's Day the big deal that it's become, considered seashells romantic little treasures.

Conversation hearts, those little pastel, almost tasteless, candy hearts with a message, are made by the New England Confectionary Co., better known as Necco. The company makes about 8 billion of those little candies a year featuring sweet nothings like ``Love You'' and ``Kiss Me,'' but this year it's added some new ones, like ``Fax Me'' and ``E-mail Me.''

Not all Valentine's Day cards were sentimental. Back in the mid-1800s, there was a new interest in comic cards referred to as ``penny dreadfuls,'' somewhat like the children's valentines sold in boxes for classroom distribution.