When we think of February 14, our minds become filled with visions of pink and red, little heart candies and grade school memories of Ninja Turtles Valentines cards. St. Valentine’s Day is a holiday for romance and love. But the question remains as to why we celebrate this special day in February.
The true story of St. Valentine’s Day is a mystery since there is more than one possible legend. This romantic holiday may have started in the Catholic Church, but there are at least three saints named Valentine or Valentinus. All of them were martyrs and each of them has their own legend.
One legend tells of Saint Valentine, who was a priest in Rome during the rule of Emperor Cladius II. Claudius proclaimed that soldiers who did not have wives and families made better fighters, and outlawed marriages for young men. Valentine knew this was absurd and decided to defy Claudius, continuing to perform marriages in secret. When Valentine’s actions were uncovered, Claudius sentenced him to death.
While he awaited his execution, Valentine fell in love with the prison keeper’s daughter who would come to visit him. Before his death, it is believed, he sent her a letter, which he signed “from your Valentine.”
Valentine’s fate is another mystery. Though some claim he was beheaded, others insist he became very sick while in prison and died. What are believed to be the remains of Saint Valentine can still be viewed every St. Valentine’s Day at the Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland.
Some believe Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the death or burial of Saint Valentine. According to www.history.com, “other’s claim that the Christian church chose the middle of February in an effort to ‘Christianize’ the Lupercalia festival.”
The Luperci was an order of Roman priests. During the festival members of the Luperci would gather together and sacrifice a goat or dog as a sign of purification and fertility. The boys would then slice the animal’s hide, take to the streets, and proceed to gently slap women and fields with the flesh. This was thought to be a thoughtful and romantic gesture.
According to this legend, the townspeople would then gather together. The young women in the town would put their names into a giant urn. The single men would take turns choosing names. They would be paired together with the women for one year. These partnerships often resulted in marriage. This system of match making was later deemed un-Christian and outlawed.
Those who claim that the greeting card companies invented Valentine’s Day could be right. In Great Britain, people started celebrating Valentine’s Day around the seventeenth century. It was common for loved ones to exchange small tokens and handwritten notes. By the end of the eighteenth century advances in printing technology brought about ready-made cards. They were an easy way to show one’s feelings.
We may never know the true history behind St. Valentine’s Day. It is probable that all these legends had a hand in making it the single holiday that makes us fantasize about pink roses and chocolates– or that makes us want to stay in bed until it’s over.
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