Valentine Day History

The St. Valentine’s Day is recognized worldwide as the day to declare your love, celebrate it with all the person that you care for. This is the day marked as the most romantic day of the whole year which gives couples an official reason to celebrate their union for each other though eternity. You will find nowadays, people filled with enthusiasm over buying gifts, chocolates, cards, flowers etc. for their loved ones. But if you think that Valentine’s Day is another phenomena generated by the greeting card companies to cash in on another festival thereby you are wrong. You can trace back the routes of Saint Valentine’s Day right till the ancient Roman Empire. There are many legends in fact known to be around since that time which reflects upon one or more reason for the existence of this romantic day.

Saint Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day is a very popular holiday celebrated on 14th February by many people all around the world. The entire festival is about spreading and receiving the message of love and affection. There is mutual exchange of cards and love notes along with social gatherings and get-togethers. Different regions have their own customs and traditions of observing the festival. However, the basic concept remains the same and that is dwell in the saga of true and unending love. The history of Valentine’s Day however, has been a mystery till date. No one till present knows the correct information about the history and origin of Valentine’s Day. There are a number of legends surrounding the same. Most of these stories have been passed on through the generations. Hence, there is bound to be some additions and deletions. We bring you various legends regarding the mysterious past of Valentine’s Day.

History & Origin of Valentine’s Day
One of the most popular stories is that Valentine was one of the early Christians in those days when danger and death went hand in hand. He was detained for helping some Christians who were trying to escape from the prisons where they were tortured like animals. Valentine was hauled before the Emperor of Rome and was ordered to be put in jail. There, he alleviated the jail keeper’s daughter of loss of sight. When the pitiless emperor came to know about this phenomenon, he gave orders of beheading Valentine. He is said to have sent the keeper’s daughter a farewell message signed, “from your Valentine”, morning of the execution.

Another legend and a paradox is that three Saint Valentines have been mentioned in the early list of martyrs under the date of 14th February. One is supposed to be a priest in Rome, another is said to be the Bishop of Interamna (now in Italy) and the third one lived and died in Africa. The Bishop of Interamna is the most popular modern Saint. He was a Christian martyr who lived in northern Italy and was martyred on 14th February around the third century following the orders of Emperor Claudius for breaching the outlaw on Christianity. Despite the fact that Valentine of Interamna and Valentine of Rome have different entries in martyrologies and biographies, most scholars deem they are the same person.

One of the foremost and moist valid facts that comes to mind when thinking about Valentine’s Day is the assassination of Saint Valentine in 269 AD by Roman emperor Claudius II. Valentine’s Day History narrates the story like this. In 2nd century AD, the Roman emperor Claudius II gave a very undignified order by banishing the marriages between young couples. It was his thinking that unmarried soldiers fared better in war than the married ones. This law was clearly defied by Saint Valentine who was a God fearing man and took it upon himself to marry off the couples secretly. When the Emperor heard about it, he had Saint Valentine beheaded in 269 AD.

It was also said that while in jail, Valentine fell in love with the jailor, Asterius’s daughter and in his last love note to her he signed it as ‘From Your Valentine’. Perhaps the tradition of signing your love letters to your beloved from your valentine caught up from that. In 469 AD, Pope Galesius awarded Valentine with the title of sainthood. The ancient Roman festival i.e. Lupercalia which celebrated in honour of the Roman Goddess Juno was also renamed to be known as Saint Valentine’s Day.

There have been periods of celebrating this Valentine’s Day in medieval times too. In the 1600, UK celebrated its first ever Valentine’s Day on 14th of February. From 1750, the tradition of sending handwritten love notes, greeting cards, chocolates, flowers came into focus which gained momentum till now. You will find couples all over the world wishing their beloved with special messages, gifts and other such special nothings on the Valentine’s Day to mark the spirit of this day!