Who Was Saint Valentine
The Story of the Man Whose Name is Given to the Holiday of Lovers
Dec 16, 2007
The Known Facts about Valentine
Valentine was a Roman citizen who lived during a very chaotic period of Roman history (A.D. 215-285). As a result, few records survive from that era.
It is not known if Valentine was a nobleman, shopkeeper, or doctor. What we do know is that during the reign of Emperor Claudius II, Valentine was a priest and we know that he was executed for being a Christian.
The Most Popular Legend about Valentine
Claudius wanted a loyal army that was committed to his cause. He felt that married men were committed to their wives and children and not to him. As a result, he decided to ban marriage (some think he outlawed marriage for all Romans and some believe it was only outlawed for Roman soldiers).
Valentine felt that the decree was unfair and began performing marriage ceremonies in secret for young lovers. Valentine’s activities were discovered and he was arrested. There are various stories regarding the sequence of events surrounding his arrest and death but the result was the same, Valentine was beheaded. According to tradition, he was killed on February 14, around A.D. 270.
After Valentine’s death, stories about the things Valentine did began to be passed from person to person. Many of the stories suggest how various Valentine’s Day traditions came about.
One story suggested that Valentine made paper hearts that he sent to persecuted Christians in prison. The hearts were to remind the prisoners of God’s love. This story would explain why we celebrate Valentine’s Day with paper hearts.
Another story suggested that he became friends with the prison warden, Asterius. Asterius and his family became Christians as a result of their friendship with Valentine. Asterius had a blind daughter. Some legends claim that Valentine miraculously cured her of her blindness. Many stories say that shortly before his death, Valentine sent a letter to the girl which he signed “From Your Valentine.” This story would explain why we use the phrase ‘From Your Valentine’ today.
The Holiday and the Saint
The holiday that we know as Valentine’s Day has been around for centuries before a man named Valentine ever existed. It was called Lupercalia and was a holiday celebrating love just like the holiday we know. However, it wasn’t until after the death of a Roman man who believed in marriage, that we were given the day we now know as St. Valentine's.
The Christian church declared Valentine a saint and then made him the patron saint of people in love. It seems appropriate that when the church decided to overwrite pagan customs such as Lupercalia that they would replace the holiday with a similar day and name it after a man whose love of marriage resulted in his death.
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