Learn about St. Valentine and a brief history of Valentine's Day.
There is some confusion as to who, actually, was St. Valentine. One of the most popular legends claims that St. Valentine was a Catholic bishop who lived under the reign of Claudius II in Rome. Claudius believed that men who were not married made better soldiers than married men with families. Because of this belief, he forbade men in his empire to marry. Valentine did not agree with this law, and would secretly marry young couples who came to see him. When Claudius discovered this, he had Valentine thrown into jail, and later beheaded.
Legend also has it that while in jail, Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s blind daughter. Because of his faith, and love for the girl, she was miraculously cured of her blindness. In a note he wrote to her before his death, he signed it “From Your Valentine”. This phrase is still used between lovers today.
Valentine’s Day was originally a pagan fertility holiday, commemorating the rite of passage of young men into adulthood. A lottery would be held in which the men would draw names of teenage girls, and the girl chosen by each man would then be required to be that man’s companion for the remainder of the year. Often these pairings would result in marriage. This ritual was called Lupercalia, for the pagan God Lupercus, and was celebrated on February 15th.
Pope Gelasius I changed the custom of Lupercalia hundreds of years later. Instead of men drawing names of their sexual partners, Gelasius declared that both men and women would draw the names of saints that they were to emulate for the remainder of the year. Although the official lottery was banned, men still used the day to seek out the attentions of women, often sending notes and letters ‘from your valentine’.
The Catholic Church wanted a patron saint for the day, and decided that Valentine was a perfect choice. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th, widely believed to be the day that Valentine was beheaded. Others claim that February 14th was chosen as St. Valentine’s Day in an effort to shift the focus from the pagan date of February 15th.
Because of the legends surrounding St. Valentine, the day has become a day for lovers.
