Who was Saint Valentine?

Oh, Valentine’s Day: the annual day of romance, roses, cards, hearts, chocolates, and maybe even wedding rings. At least, that’s what we’ve come to know of it. But how did this romantic holiday begin? You may be surprised by the religious, mysterious, bizarre, and bloody origins of the now-commercialized and cheery day of love. What is the history? Who was Saint Valentine, anyway?

There is lots of confusion on which Saint Valentine the holiday refers to. The Catholic Church has three saints with the name Valentine, and it is unclear which of the three is the Valentine responsible for the original Saint Valentine’s Day celebrations.

Legend claims Valentine was a priest who secretly performed Christian-based marriages for soldiers and their lovers during the marriage-forbidden war times of secular Emperor Claudius II’s rule. Saint Valentine was discovered and imprisoned in a torture-ridden Roman jail, where he fell in love with a mysterious girl (believed to be his prosecutor’s daughter). He sent her a love letter signed ‘from your Valentine’ right before his execution, thus originating the romantic sign-off still widely used today.

Valentine’s Day history has somewhat blurred origins. Why is Valentine’s Day in mid-February? While the date is meant to honor Saint Valentine’s death and burial, which supposedly occurred in mid-February around 270 AD, some historians believe the date could reflect the Catholic Church’s attempt to replace the ancient Pagan celebration of Lupercalia — a fertility festival for the pagan agricultural god Faunus — with a Christian event in memory of the saint.

At this pagan event, which traditionally took place on 15 February, Roman men allegedly drew the names of Roman women from a jar to be coupled with during the festival, often leading to true love, or so the story goes. Lupercalia became officially outlawed in the late 400s when Pope Gelasius replaced it by deeming 14 February as Saint Valentine’s Day.

In short, it could be said that the meaning of Valentine’s Day commemorates Saint Valentine’s brutal and bloody three-part execution – beating, stoning, and beheading – because of his secret support of Christian marriages. 14 February symbolizes the date he died or possibly because Christians needed to replace the pagan Lupercalia.

I hope we have learned something new today. Share with me in the comment section why the day is now associated with romance.

Enjoy a lovely weekend folks, and let love lead.