February 14th. Valentine's Day. A celebration of love, joy, romance, and all forms of togetherness. What most people do not know is that February 14th is actually the day that three beloved St. Valentines were martyred.
One of the said Saint Valentines (in above picture) was a holy priest during a time in Rome, under the rule of Emperor Claudius II "The Cruel," when the city was involved in several unpopular and bloody campaigns. These campaigns, of course, required a strong army, to which the emperor was having difficulty maintaining. Seeing that several men were unwilling to join the Roman army during this period due to their strong devotion to their wives and families, Claudius made the decision to ban all marriages and engagements in Rome.
With the injustice this decree created to the Roman people, Valentine crossed Claudius in secret and went forward in performing marriages for young lovers.
Of course, Valentine was eventually discovered performing these criminal actions.
Claudius immediately ordered Valentine to be executed. After being arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, he was doomed to be beaten to death with clubs and then be beheaded. The Prefect's sentence towards Valentine was carried out on February 14th on or around the year 278 C.E.
According to history/legend, Valentine had become friends his jailer's daughter and had left a farewell letter, or note of sorts, to which he signed at the end, "From your Valentine." (Recognize the similarity in our own wording on Valentine's Day cards sent to ones we care for... Will you be my Valentine?)
For his great service in maintaining the bond of marriage, after Valentine was martyred he was named a saint.
Although, there was not just one Saint Valentine. The true exact origins and identity of the St. Valentine, mentioned above, are actually not well known. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February. They say that one Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa, the second was a priest in Rome (as mentioned above), and third was a bishop of Interamna (now named Terni, Italy).
There are various legends on how the martyr's name became referenced when speaking of romance. For one, his death, due to its occurring on Feruary 14th, may have been connected to the pagan festival of love, the Feast of Lupercalia. During this feast, the names of young women were dropped in a box and fate was supposed to draw the men to select the name of the women they were meant to love.
We do know that Pope Gelasius, in 496 C.E., ceased the celebration towards the Feast of Lupercalia and declared February 14th to be known from that year on as St. Valentine's Day. Eventually, this day of celebration became one on which the exchanging of love notes, poems, and simple gifts to your loved one or friends were given, such as flowers, chocolates, etc.
THIS HISTORY LESSON IS TO BE CONTINUED...
References:
1. History Channel Online
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=57973
2. The Holiday Spot, "History of Valentine's Day":
http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/history_of_valentine.htm
Images:
1. Hearts:
http://adultcardiac.stanford.edu/images/heart.jpg
2. St. Valentine, from Rome:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-2/653261/StValentinemosaic.jpg
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