Saint Valentine, Saint Of Love

Valentine’s Day is celebrated almost anywhere in the world on February 14th; in some countries among lovers and in others also among friends. So it is a day when friends, loved ones and lovers around the world exchange gifts as a sign of love or intimacy for another.

Almost everywhere in the world there are also special events to celebrate today. In many countries, parties are even held for singles to find a partner. In other countries, on the other hand, the various manifestations of love are further exalted; for example, the longest kiss competition in the Philippines has already been held several times.

Although Valentine’s Day is celebrated in almost all Western countries, few of us know where this day originated and in whose honor Valentine’s Day was actually originally celebrated.

The truth is that no one knows for sure exactly where the roots of Valentine’s Day came from, as there are three possible martyrs behind the celebration. However, all sources point in the direction that the feast originated with a great Roman saint.

The origin of St. Valentine

The starting point for the Valentine’s Day celebration was apparently a three-day Roman festival known as Lupercalia. It was a celebration held in honor of the gods of fertility and was held in mid-February to celebrate the official start of spring.

During that festival, activities were organized in which young men randomly chose a girl’s name. This was supposed to be his partner during the festivities and many times these relationships later ended in marriage. With the gradual rise of the Catholic Church, one of the goals of Christians was to eliminate these pagan celebrations, but it was not quite so easy, as these customs were deeply rooted in local traditions.

Thus, in 494 AD, Pope Gelasius associated the name of the festival with the saint: the feast was named St. Valentine’s Day at that time, and the pope set it as the official date on 14 February. However, Pope Gelasius did not leave an exact record of what Valentinus he was referring to at this feast, for by that time there had been three saints bearing the same name. One was a converted Roman, another a bishop, and a third a martyr from North Africa who died for his faith.

Most likely St. Valentine

It is quite likely that Pope Gelasius wanted to honor the martyrdom of the second century of our era. However, there are two stories related to this saint. One tells the story of a Roman physician who converted to Christianity and became a priest.

It was the year 270, and Emperor Claudius II forbade marriage among the young, because according to the autocratic reason, if these young men were to marry and have children, they would not become good soldiers. Valentinus, the converted priest, thought this order seemed unfair, and for this reason he decided to celebrate the marriages of the young people in secret, defying the Emperor’s order.

However, Claudius II found out about the priest’s actions thanks to rumors that came to his ears. Thus, he invited a priest to the scene and St. Valentine took the opportunity to share his faith with the emperor. Apparently the priest’s speeches began to arouse mercy in the emperor, but the Roman governor opposed St. Valentine and the emperor finally ordered the priest to be executed.

Another version of the story of St. Valentine

The second version of this story tells of a doctor who, according to the first story, converted into a priest and inaugurated young couples in secret from the emperor. However, this version points out that when the emperor caught him, St. Valentine was imprisoned in a miserable cell. There he met the prisoner’s daughter, who took care of her and kept her company in that harsh place.

After all, St. Valentine fell in love with the girl, but almost immediately after that the emperor ordered the priest to be executed. He had barely enough time to write a letter to his beloved declaring his love and concluding the letter by signing it “Your Valentine”. It is said that this served as a starting point for the first forms of this feast day, which were practically limited to sending love letters among lovers.

It was not until the 19th century that Valentine’s Day began to form the most important and characteristic features of the celebration. A woman named Esther Howland had a lot to do with this, as it was the daughter of a bookstore who was amazed at a Valentine’s Day card written by an English man. Based on this, he designed several cards and asked his brother to include them on the U.S. commercial tour list. The idea was a complete success.

To this should be added that in 1913 a company called Hallmark Cards from Kansas City (USA) decided to print a huge number of cards with love messages, which they called “ Valentines, ” or Valentine’s Day cards , thanks to the day they received . Since then, this celebration has acquired the traits through which we feel it today.

It is believed that the tradition in continental Europe came from England, where it dates back to the early 16th century, when King Henry VIII, known for his numerous marriages, began to spend the day, according to history books. In fact, many of the beliefs and traditions associated with Valentine’s Day date back to the days of Henry VIII.