A Brief History of Valentine’s Day
The world celebrates Valentine’s day every 14th of February. Though it’s not a public holiday, majority of the world’s population see it as a celebration of romantic love. Despite the many stories told, no one knows how Valentine’s day came to be. The best we can say, is that this celebration, as with most, began as a religious one. The Catholic Church canonized at least three different Saint Valentines, all of whom were martyred and literally died for love.
The most popular “father of Valentine’s day” was a third century Roman priest serving under Emperor Claudius. The Emperor made marriage illegal in order to make more single young men available for his armies. He felt single men made better soldiers than married ones. Saint Valentine saw the wrong in his Emperor’s decision and began conducting marriages in secret.
Once Claudius discovered Valentine’s acts of defiance, he had him executed immediately.
Valentine became the Patron Saint of lovers, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival of Lepercus and Faaunus. This festival involved young Romans offering women they wished to court, handwritten notes of affection on 14 February. The greeting cards bore Saint Valentine’s name. Around 489 A.D, Pope Gerasius declared February 14 as “Saint Valentine’s Day” to honor the martyr Valentine and to end the ‘pagan’ celebration.
Today, the festival of Valentine’s Day has increased tremendously among the masses due to the combined effect all of the above said reasons. So, as you celebrate with your beloved, remember that it goes beyond material gifts. It’s a story about sacrifice, and fighting for one of the greatest human experiences: the ability to give yourself away in love.
Why do you celebrate it?
