The history behind Valentine’s Day you never knew
Some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated mid-February to mark the anniversary of St Valentine's death.
Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14.
It was named after Valentinus, early Christian saints who were martyrs.
They were two of them, Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. The Valentine of Rome was a Roman priest martyred AD 496. Valentine of Terni was a bishop of Interamna on AD 197 and martyred under Emperor Aurelian.
An account from 1400s describes Valentine as a priest who was beheaded by Emperor Claudius II for helping christian couples wed.
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The emperor had banned marriage as he thought single men made better soldiers. The saint felt this was unfair so he celebrated marriages in secret. When the emperor found out, he was thrown in jail and sentenced to death.
There are similarities between the priest’s and bishop’s stories, which leads people to believe they are the same man.
Some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated mid-February to mark the anniversary of St Valentine’s death. Another idea is that when he was sent to prison, he sent a letter to a young girl he had fallen in love with and signed it “From your Valentine”.
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There were no romantic connotations on this day until Chaucer’s poetry about “Valentines” in the 14th century. Earlier times were emphasized on sacrifice not romance.
