Valentine’s Day: So, what’s the meaning behind the world’s most celebrated romantic holiday, anyway?
It’s a tale as old as time. The saga of giggling, star-crossed lovers indulging in the gift giving and card sending rituals of Valentine’s Day – all in the name of a saint for which the holiday is branded.
But just who is this ambiguous saint and why do millons of sweethearts around the world celebrate this holiday?
There are many legends, but few concrete answers that identify this patron saint.
But we do know that February has long been a month brimming with romance and courtship.
So who is the mysterious St. Valentine and why do we celebrate the many realms of love on his day?
One legend portrays Valentine as a priest who served in Rome during the third century, when Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those who were married and had children.
According to researchers for The History Channel, even though Claudius outlawed marriages for young men, Valentine secretly continued to perform marriages for these lovers in secret.
When Valentine’s actions were outed, Claudius ordered to have him put to death.
Other documented accounts lead historians to assume that Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself.
Researchers say that while in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with his jailor’s daughter – who visited him during his sentence.
Before his death, it is gathered that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine.”
Today, the Catholic church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were put to death because of religious beliefs, but none of which have been marked as the holiday’s namesake.
It is written that Pope Gelasius declared Feb. 14 St. Valentine’s Day in 498 A.D. as a day where Rome’s bachelors would pull the names of the city’s women from a clay urn and become paired with the chosen woman for their year.
Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that Feb. 14 was the beginning of the bird mating season, which added to the idea that the day should be a day for romance.
According to The History Channel, the oldest known valentine still in existance today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
The true origin of Valentine’s Day may never be known and Saint Valentine will continue his trek through history as a mysterious romantic.
But, if you asked me, I would reasonably say that I don’t believe any part of the Valentine’s Day enigma will halt the lickin’ and stickin’ of postage stamps on love letters sent out today.
Be one with others and join the estimated one billion people who will send out cards to loved ones this year.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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