Every year on Feb. 14 love-struck couples exchange candy, cards, flowers and other gifts as they profess their affection for one another by saying, "Be Mine, Valentine." While romance fills the minds of happy couples, others dread the day that only acts as a reminder of their loneliness. Whether we welcome or fear the day, few of us question the origin of this now mainstream holiday.
Contrary to what some will say, there is much more to Valentines Day than a ploy created by Hallmark to raise revenue; the celebration of Valentines Day goes back many centuries to Roman and Christian stories of Saint Valentine.
The story of Saint Valentine has several variations. Each story offers a plausible explanation for the beginning of this long-standing holiday celebrated during the month of February.
The first version tells of a Christian priest during the third century (around 270 AD) in Rome. The priest, called Valentine, lived under the reign of Emperor Claudius II.
During Valentine's lifetime, Claudius outlawed marriage for young men so that they would be more prone to fighting in battle than staying home with their families.
Valentine vehemently disagreed with Claudius and was willing to risk his life to secretly marry young couples that desperately wanted to sanctify their love, despite the Emperor's decree.
Valentine's actions did not remain secret for long. Claudius soon learned of Valentines' crime. Valentine was sentenced to death by the emperor and allegedly killed during the month of February.
Another version of the same story tells of Valentine falling in love with his jailor's daughter.
As legend has it, Valentine sent a letter to his love shortly before his death professing his love to her. It is said that Valentine signed the card, "From your Valentine," and the phrase has been associated with Valentine and the holiday since.
Finally, a third, less romantic story has Valentine being executed for freeing ill-treated prisoners from Roman prisons.
No matter what story you choose to believe, it is agreed that after Valentine's death, he became a patron saint and overseer of Roman pagan festivities. Saint Valentine oversaw the Lupercalia festival during the month of February, a month that has come to be associated with love and passion. By connecting St. Valentine of the Christian tradition with the Lupercalia festival, the church hoped to become involved in what was previously an exclusively pagan holiday.
Similar to our notion of spring-cleaning, the Lupercalia festival of February was considered a time of cleaning out the old and bringing in the new for the season. It involved several rituals that became associated with Saint Valentine.
One tradition of the Lupercalia festival involved young men writing letters of affection to the women that they loved. These love letters were written annually on Feb. 14 in the name of Saint Valentine -- similar to the way Valentine's name is used in today's greeting cards of the holiday.
A second tradition involved men drawing women's names out of an urn. These men and women would then be matched for an entire year, a pairing that sometimes led to marriage.
Additionally, in England and France during the Middle Ages, Feb. 14 marked the start of the birds' mating season -- another element perpetuating the image of February as the month of love and passion.
Ultimately, Saint Valentine became firmly established as the saint associated with the pagan festivities of February and the aura of love surrounding the month. The holiday celebration, Valentine's Day, spread with Christianity and the tradition survived the ages.
The oldest surviving valentine was crafted in 1451 by the Duke of Orleans during his imprisonment in London.
Now, over 550 years later, the card is showcased in the British Museum as a testament to the long-standing celebration of Valentine's Day.
