by Mary Tyrer

Created on: January 25, 2009   Last Updated: February 17, 2009

Lupercalia the pagan festival of love might be how the modern date of Valentine's Day came to be. One of the pagan rituals was to place the women's names in a box, the men would pull a name, and they would celebrate the festival together. Another ancient belief states that birds mate in mid-February and this may contribute to the modern date for celebrating St. Valentine's Day on February 14. The Catholic Church offers more than three different St. Valentine's martyrs. However, some believe two of the saints may be one in the same. The legend of St. Valentine and the Emperor Claudius ll is the most recognized.

St. Valentine, a Catholic Priest whose passion for marrying couples in love went against the order of the Emperor Claudius II. The Emperor wanted a strong army and believed unmarried young men would build the strongest army. A ban on young men and women marrying was passed. The law stated young men could not marry. This would ensure Emperor Claudius II's army would stay strong and men without family ties would be plentiful.

Ignoring the law, St. Valentine secretly continued to marry young couples in love. Emperor Claudius ll discovered that St. Valentine was not observing his law and had St. Valentine thrown in prison. Emperor Claudius ll imprisoned and torturing him for his disobedience. Nonetheless, young couples visited their favorite priest. In an effort to keep him from being lonely, comfort him, and keep his spirits up his visitors would bring him flowers and small tokens of appreciation letting him know they were thankful for his friendship, and his belief in their love.

A cruel and unforgiving man, Emperor Claudius II beat and starved St. Valentine until February 14, 269 A.D. The legend stated that on this date St. Valentine was beheaded for his kindness toward those who were in love. As a result, people honor St. Valentine's memory by exchanging symbols of their love for one another on that day by giving flowers and other small tokens as so many did while St. Valentine was imprisoned.

The story of St. Valentine receiving flowers and messages while in prison inspired young lovers to give gifts to one another, and the tradition of expressing feelings of love carries on. The legend of St. Valentine and the day of love were carried down over the centuries.

In the 1850s, Esther A. Howland saw the opportunity to capitalize on the note-giving day of love. She was the first person send a Valentine's Day card. Howland, a gifted artist and publisher began creating and selling Valentine cards to the public, which started the commercialization of the modern Valentine's Day.

References

Saint Valentine, (2009), who2.com last updated: Retrieved
January 20, 2009, from:
http://who2.com/ask/stvalentine.htm

Twilight Bridge, (2009), The Story of St. Valentine.
Retrieved January 17, 2009

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