While there are few people in the United States, and many other countries around the world, who don’t know that February 14th is Valentine’s Day, perhaps there are less that actually can claim to know the true origins of this day of love and affection. It seems that no one has been able to pin down exactly who St. Valentine was and how this Saint’s day became known as a day to display and pledge one’s affection to loved ones. Regardless of its mysterious origins, however, Valentine’s Day has become a holiday celebrated by many and thrives despite the uncertainty.
Saint Valentine is thought to be one of a possible three men named Valentinus martyred during the third century A.D. Legend has it that he is either a Roman priest, a bishop of Interamna or martyr in Roman Africa. The most conferred upon opinion seems to be that St. Valentine was Roman priest in the Roman Empire during the rule of Claudius II. Claudius, of the opinion that married men did not make valiant soldiers, wanted to maintain a strong army. Thus, he made the decision to ban young men from marriage. The priest Valentine, disturbed by this law, began to perform marriage ceremonies in secret for the young men and women of Rome. Once he found out about Valentine’s actions, Claudius II had him jailed. It is believed that Claudius II worshipped a pagan religion and when Valentine attempted to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius had him killed. The date of his execution is thought to be February 14, 270 AD.
The tradition of sending Valentine’s cards to loved ones is also thought to be traced back to this priest. It is believed that while in jail, Valentine fell in love with a girl—possibly the jailer’s daughter—and wrote her a love note signed “From your Valentine.” The tradition of sending cards or small notes continued throughout the centuries, and, with time, the advent of mass produced printing made giving printed cards, instead of home made notes, increasingly popular. Due to the ambiguous nature of the true identity of St. Valentine, the Catholic Church removed St. Valentine’s Day from the church calendar as an official holiday in 1969.
Another Valentine’s Day legend is that it was a day created to pre-empt the Roman pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia, celebrated for over 800 years on February 15. The tradition of Lupercalia held that young women placed their names in an urn and the young men would take turns choosing a name in a type of lottery. Whatever female he chose would then be his sexual companion for the year. Pope Gelasius, disapproving of this ritual, changed the tradition to a lottery system where both men and women would pick the name of a Saint to emulate throughout the coming year. Roman men, however, clung onto the day as one to chase the affections of young women and did so by giving small tokens of affection and hand-written notes to the women of their desire. The Pope declared that Saint Valentine would be the patron saint of this new feast and declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day in 498 A.D.
Regardless of its true origins, by the middle-ages St. Valentine’s Day was one of the most popular saint’s days in France and England. Men and women would exchange hand written notes—declarations of love. Charles, Duke of Orlean is credited with sending the first true Valentine in 1415. It was sent to his wife while he was imprisoned in the tower of London. It was also believed by the French and English that the middle of February was when mating season for birds began—another reason to associate the day with love. The tradition of Valentine’s Day were most likely brought to the United States by the British in the 19th century. Over time, the exchanging of cards and notes led to the exchange of gifts by the second half of the 20th century, increasing the commercialization of the holiday. Today over one billion Valentine’s cards are sent each year, and the holiday is celebrated throughout the world in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, France and Australia. Though the true origins of Valentine’s Day and the mysterious identity of St. Valentine may never be confirmed, Valentine’s Day remains a widely celebrated and highly commercialized manifestation of a series of ambiguous legends, not likely to decrease in popularity anytime soon.
