The Origin Of St Valentines Day

Valentine’s Day used to be known as St Valentine’s Day before. It has been shortened to just valentine’s day after years of use. There are many varying legends and origins of St Valentine’s Day but the one attributed to the saint is the most well known of all. Throughout Valentine’s Day history it has been said that this legend is the most accurate and the most romantic.

The Priest

During the reign of Emperor Claudius the second of Rome, February fourteen was celebrated in honor of the roman goddess Juno. The similarity of this pagan celebration to that of St Valentine’s Day is that both celebrations expound n the union of couples. The pagan celebration highlighted the drawing of slips of paper which pairs boys to girls; whereas St Valentine’s Day celebrates the love of a couple for each other.

It turns out that the Emperor Claudius the second severely lacked soldiers for his empire. Herein starts the reason why there is a St Valentine’s Day. It came to the emperor’s attention that less and less young men were entering his armies due to their attachment to their girlfriends or betrothed. To rectify the severe lack of young men in his army, the slightly insane emperor passed a law that cancelled all marriages and betrothals in all of Rome. This means that the men will have no families or betrothed ones to miss when they go battle for the empire.

The priest who is said to have started the St Valentine’s Day practice did not believe in the law that the emperor passed. The name of this priest was Valentine, hence the naming of St Valentine’s Day. The priest secretly continued to marry the young couples who wish to get married because he did not believe that this is the reason why the men did not want to join the armies of the Emperor. The emperor eventually found out about the priest who flouted his law and he was sent to prison to await his death. While in prison, one of the common practices of St Valentines Day was created. This was the giving of flowers to loved ones. Grateful couples whom the priest married would throw flowers and thank you notes to the priest’s cell.

The story of St Valentine’s Day becomes more romantic when a prison guard’s daughter enters the scene. It is said that the guard’s daughter visited the priest frequently because she felt sorry for him. The two eventually fell in love and on the day of his execution, the priest wrote a note to the guard’s daughter signing it “from your Valentine”.

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