THE ORIGIN OF VALENTINE’S DAY

Valentine’s Day: We know it as the day that couples go out together and reaffirm their love for one another, while buying chocolates and roses and making sweet romantic gestures. But where did this holiday come from?

As it turns out, the history of Valentine’s Day is remarkably complex, starting with its namesake, Saint Valentine.

For one thing, there are three different “Saint Valentines” origin stories to choose from – featuring two men killed by Roman Emperor Claudius the Second.

According to one story, Claudius had decided that single men made better soldiers (for reasons that no one knows) and so banned marriage for young men. Our first Valentine candidate, a priest, allegedly continued to conduct marriage ceremonies in secret until he was caught and put to death, becoming a martyr who would later gain saint status.

Another story has our Valentine as a bishop named Valentine of Terni, who was beheaded outside Rome (also by the Emperor’s orders) for reasons that aren’t really known.

Most important for us today: As legend has it – whichever of these two men, while being held captive – is believed to have sent the first valentine to the daughter of his jailer, whom he seems to have fallen in love with during her visits to him during his stay in prison. It is believed that at some point during this time he sent her a letter, signing it “from your Valentine,” which is, as we all know, a phrase still used today.

The origin of the name aside, the actual holiday used to be a Roman holy-day known as Lupercilia, during which fertility rituals would be performed and some young men and women would even be married via lottery.

The first written Valentine’s cards can actually be traced back to the 1400-1500s, the oldest known being a poem written by Duke Charles of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned.

The first-mass produced cards were made in the 1700s, although they didn’t make their way to America until nearly a century later.

And there you have it – a brief overview on the “Holiday of Love.”

It is the day to take a chance, and go for broke. Ask your crush out, take your partner out to dinner, or stay in and watch a nice movie together, because as the original Valentine found out, you only live once.