The History of Valentine’s Day Compiled by Cassandra Teo

The History of Valentine’s Day

Compiled by Cassandra Teo

Ever wondered how Valentine's Day came about? What could have started this tradition of showing your love to your loved ones on a specific day every year? I mean, come on, why show your loved ones or crushes (secret crushes included) that you are thinking of them and appreciate them on only one day out of 365 days? And what special meaning did Valentine even have to insinuate such a lovey-dovey celebration?

           

Well, Valentine (or Valentinus) was actually the name of several Christian martyrs. The ones honored on the 14^th of February are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred around 269 AD and was buried on the Via Flaminia (a Roman road leading from Rome to Ariminum (Rimini), and was the most important route to the north). His remains rest at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) around 197 AD. He is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian and was also buried on the Via Flaminia, albeit in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni.

            Romantic elements are not present in the original biography of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost to the masses.

One of the legends depicts Valentine as a priest who served during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius II, who outlawed marriage for young men as he believed that single men made better soldiers than those with families. Valentine, however, saw injustice in this and secretly performed marriages for young couples. Emperor Claudius arrested Valentine when he found out and ordered that he be put to death.

Another legend says that Valentine was prosecuted as a Christian and interrogated by the Emperor Claudius II in person. Valentine impressed Claudius (with what it is not known) and this led Emperor Claudius to have a discussion with him in an attempt to convert Valentine to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Instead, Valentine tried to convert Emperor Claudius to Christianity.  Because of this, he was executed. However, before his execution, Valentine is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. On the eve of his execution, it is a widely believed fact that Valentine sent the first “valentine” himself to a young girl he had befriended (believed to be his jailer’s daughter). It was a note that was signed “From Your Valentine”.

            Other legends suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. Though the truths behind the legends are murky, one thing remains the same: Valentine’s appeal as a romantic figure spread and made him a popular saint in England and France.

           

Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to honour Valentine’s death while others believe it was the effort of the Christian Church to ‘Christianize’ ancient pagan celebrations. One of the celebrations was the Roman Lupercalia festival, an archaic rite connected to fertility, which was celebrated between February 13^th and the 15^th (as February was the official month of the beginning of spring in ancient Rome and considered a time for purification). It was dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders, Romulus and Remus. The period between mid-January and mid-February was also the month of Gamelion in the ancient Athenian calendar. It was dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera, making it a popular month for marriages.

Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14^th was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance.

 Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century in Great Britain. By the mid-eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland (also known as the Mother of Valentine) began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

Today, Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-sending holiday of the year (it has not beaten Christmas yet!). However, there are some families who choose to find other means of honoring Saint Valentine on Valentine’s Day. Many of these traditions involve bonfires, for fire is said to represent passion.

Source: Wikipedia