St. Valentine’s Day is a day we celebrate love and affection. But did you know our Valentine’s celebration is the result of death and martyrdom? In my research, I learned Valentine was a Catholic priest who married Christian couples, breaking the laws of Roman Emperor Claudius the Cruel around A.D. 270. Rome was in involved in bloody wars, and the emperor needed a strong army. Claudius felt single men, who were not in love, made better soldiers than married or engaged soldiers. So, he banned all marriages and engagements. Valentine felt the law was unfair to young lovers and performed marriages knowing he was breaking the law. To remind the soldiers to be faithful to their vows, Valentine would cut hearts out of parchment and give the hearts to the men to wear inside their clothing. Valentine also wore a purple reddish amethyst ring which was engraved with the image of a Cupid, one of our many Valentine’s symbols.
Claudius attempted to convert Valentine to Roman paganism to save his life, but Valentine refused and attempted to convert the Emperor to Christianity, which resulted in Valentine’s imprisonment. While he was imprisoned, Valentine became friends with the jailer’s blind daughter and restored her sight. The legend is Valentine wrote a farewell note to her before his execution, and signed it, “From Your Valentine,” which became the first official Valentine’s Day card.
Valentine was beaten to death with clubs and was beheaded on February 14. He was named a Saint after his death. This is the most popular story, but there were actually 3 different St. Valentines, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. All were martyred on February 14. One was a priest in Rome, one was a bishop of Interamna, (Terni, Italy) and the other was a martyr in Africa.
St. Valentine’s Day is a big day for jewelry, florists, candy makers, and Hallmark. We not only buy cards for our spouses or significant others, but we also include our children, grandchildren and friends in our Valentine’s messages of love. I remember one special Valentine’s Day, when I was young, and gifts for my daughter and husband were not in my budget. Out-of-the blue, my boss handed me a hundred-dollar bill and said, “Happy Valentine’s Day.” That was an incredibly special Valentine’s Day which allowed me to buy a beautiful, delicate robe with tiny hearts, rosebuds and red ribbons for my daughter, Karey, and take my husband out for a romantic dinner!
Celebrating love one day a year does not seem enough. Sometimes we need to remember those early feelings when young love was fresh and new. Hearts would go pitter patter with every kiss or caress and hormones took us to new levels of excitement. Your Valentine is the first person you see when you wake up and the last person you see before going to sleep. At our stage of life, we cannot afford to take love for granted. Our love is more precious and at times more demanding, unlike the easy love we enjoyed in our youth. We have learned to take care of each other. We have learned love is patient, kind and has no limits. We do not expect to be love crazy kids anymore. But occasionally, I will look at my husband, and I will feel so lucky to have his love in my life, and so grateful my Valentine chose me for his wife. For all couples who have love in their heart, and for all singles, who are loved dearly by their friends and family, Happy Valentine’s Day!
