February is the month of love. On February 14, flowers, candy and cards are sent to loved ones in celebration of Valentine's Day. There are many legends surrounding Valentine's Day, but most involve the Catholic priest Saint Valentine who lived in Rome in the third century.
Roman Emperor Claudius II thought his soldiers should be single because they made better soldiers, so he outlawed marriage for young men. This did not sit well with Valentine so he secretly married young couples. When the emperor learned what Valentine was doing he put the priest in prison.
According to legend, while Valentine was in prison he fell in love with the jailor's blind daughter, who visited him in prison. He sent the first valentine to the object of his affection just before he was put to death in A.D. 270. He signed the letter he wrote with, "From your Valentine." This makes a romantic story that may or may not be true.
Even if the story of St. Valentine is based on fact, there is speculation as to why Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February. Some say it is to honor St. Valentine's death, while others believe the Christian church was attempting to Christianize the pagan Lupercalia festival. February was considered the beginning of spring, and the Romans celebrated with the young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. A lottery was held in which the young men drew from a box the name of a young girl who was to be his companion. These couples were companions for a year and often were married at the end of the year.
Pope Gelasius tried to change this custom by putting the names of saints in the box instead of the names of girls. Men and women both drew from the box and were supposed to try to be like the saint whose name they drew. In looking for a replacement for the pagan God Lupercus, St. Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of love. In about A.D. 498 Pope Gelasius selected February 14 as St. Valentine's Day.
The middle of February was believed to be the beginning of the mating season for birds, so France and England thought Valentine's Day should be a day of romance. Charles, Duke of Orleans, in 1415 while imprisoned in the Tower of London, sent his wife the oldest known valentine still in existence. By the 17th century, Valentine's Day was being popularly celebrated in Great Britain. In the early 1700s, Americans were exchanging handmade valentines. The first mass-produced valentines were sold in America in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland.
Today only Christmas ranks higher than Valentine's Day in the number of cards sent. It is estimated that a billion Valentine cards are sent each year. Whatever the truth behind the Valentine legends, February, for centuries, has been the month of love.