The Origin of Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman empire. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular military campaigns. Claudius the Cruel, as he was known at the time, was having quite a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military legions--he believed the reason for this was that Roman men did not want to leave the lady they loves or their families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements of marriage in Rome.

About this same time, a Roman Catholic priest named Valentine came to defend "love" in the empire. He began to secretly marry couples despite the emperor's orders. When Claudius was informed of these ceremonies, Valentine was sent to prison where he remained until his death on February 14, 270.

It wasn't until a few hundred years later that Valentine's Day began to develop as we know it today, after Roman Catholicism began taking control of Europe and the rest of the Roman empire.

As part of their effort to convert pagans, the Roman Catholic Church sought to do away with pagan holidays. Valentine's Day conveniently replaced the mid-February fertility festival called Lupercalia. In honor of his sacrifice for "love," Valentine was canonized (made to be a saint). and Lupercalia was renamed in his honor.

 The tradition of honoring "Saint" Valentine continues into the 21st century. The themes of love and fertility taken from the ancient meanings of the holiday have endured and evolved into our contemporary adaptations of its meanings.