Saint Valentine’s Day History

  We celebrate Valentine’s Day every February 14th. The story of Valentine’s Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor Claudius II and a humble Christian priest Valentine. Claudius declared it unlawful for young men to marry. He seen the king wanted them to be solders in faraway lands. He thought that if the young men were married would worry about their families back home and so wouldn’t make very good warriors. Valentine disobeyed the king and secretly married many young couples. When Claudius found out about it he sent Valentine to prison. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Julia. Before his execution the bishop passed her a note signed «From your Valentine» as a farewell. So now on each February 14, Saint Valentine’s Day, messages of affection and devotion are exchanged around the world. An estimated one billion cards sent each year, making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas.

There are different legends about this traditions:

Story #1

According to a Roman legend, during the third century, a man named Valentinus was imprisoned for his Christian beliefs and sentenced to death by execution. While jailed, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer’s blind daughter. The night before Valentinus was sentenced to execution, he wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter saying, “From Your Valentine.” Valentinus was executed on Feb. 14, 269 A.D.

Story #2

Legends say that Valentinus was killed for trying to help persecuted Christians escape Roman prisons.

Story #3

In the third century Roman Emperor Claudius II desided that single men made better soldiers. Naturally the emperor outlawed young men from marrying. One prist, Valentine by name, argued against that order and kept performing marriages. Claudius soon had him executed for going against his commands.

Story #4

In the fifth century legends said that Romans honored Juno (the pagan goddess of love and marriage). On February 14, a man would pick a woman’s name out from a box and later court her for marriage. Around the time frame of 498 A.D. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as the official St. Valentine’s Day to honor the martyr Valentine and to ultimately end the pagan celebration of Juno.

Which story do you believe more?