Every February 14th, people exchange flowers, gifts, and candy in celebration of St. Valentine’s Day. To most modern day humans, however, the origins of St. Valentine—and how this special day came to be—is a complete mystery.
Nevertheless, we'll try to shed some light on it.
Well, what we do know is that February is considered the month of romance. Most of the traditions unique to St. Valentine’s Day are romantic in nature and contain elements of both ancient Roman and Christian culture.
But St. V's is not all romance. We'll get to that in a bit.
Furthermore, and adding somewhat to the confusion, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three martyred saints with the names Valentine or Valentineus.
There are several competing theories on how Valentine’s Day came to be. A dubious claim says its beginnings can be found in superstitions from the Middle Ages when many believed that birds mated for life on February 14th. To commemorate the spirit of companionship, people would send love letters on that day.
As far as Roman traditions go, you may, then, wonder about Cupid. In Roman mythology Cupid (from the Latin cupido or “desire”) is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love.
Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love. The Romans believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell when she was mourning the loss of her beloved Adonis.
Her son Cupid, as he was being stung by a bee, shot arrows into the rose garden. The sting of the arrows became thorns. Venus then pricked her foot on a thorn, and the droplets of blood dyed the roses red.
Another Roman tradition was the ancient feast of Lupercalia, a pagan fertility festival held in mid-February. Lupercalia was in honor of Lycaeus, the purported "wolf mother" who rescued and cared for Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
On this day, women wrote love notes that were placed in an urn and randomly drawn by men, who would then pursue the note-writers and claim them as companions for the next year.
But the early Christians preferred to also associate the holiday with the saint of romantic causes, Saint Valentine.
A common legend states that Valentine was a priest that served in third century Rome. In 269 AD, Emperor Claudius II declared that single males made superior soldiers than those with wives or children, so he outlawed marriage for all young men in order to optimize his potential army of soldiers.
Valentine immediately realized the injustice in this declaration and continued to perform marriages in secret ceremonies in direct defiance of Claudius.
Upon learning of Valentine’s actions, the Emperor immediately sentenced him to death (c. 269-270 AD).
At the time, there was some confusion as to if Valentine was even a Christian, even though he died in defense of the Faith.
Why then is St. Valentine and his feast day so focused on Eros (romantic love) rather than on Agape (unconditional, selfless, and charitable—Christian—love)?
For, it is believed that Valentine was martyred in part for refusing to renounce his religion. This is Agape.
But as the modern culture teaches, love—as the circular argument goes—is love. Be that as it may.
Agape and Eros are much different conceptions of love, but we can celebrate both, particularly on St. Valentine's Day.
More about other Valentinian legends…
Additional stories surrounding Valentine indicate he was martyred for attempting to assist Christians to escape Roman prisons—places where they were often tortured and beaten. If one particular legend holds true, Valentine himself sent the first ever “valentine” greeting.
The story goes that Valentine fell in love with a jailer’s daughter while in prison. The girl had visited Valentine in jail, during which time Valentine fell deeply in love with her.
Before his beheading on February 14th, Valentine is reported to have sent her a letter he signed, “From Your Valentine.”
Many years later, in 496 AD, Pope Gelasius I declared a day of honor for Valentine (or perhaps both of them) and so began the feast day of St. Valentine.
After Valentine’s death and subsequent sainthood, his became of the most popular legends in England and France during the Middle Ages.
Early pastors of Catholic churches in the Roman Empire even used St. Valentine’s Day as the day young men chose maidens from the congregation as potential brides.
This was a Christianized version of the pagan festival of Februata Juno, part of Lupercalia, where young men drew names of young women for the express purpose of engaging in promiscuous activity.
Poet Thomas William Parsons (1819–1892) wrote a famous poem called "Saint Valentine's Day" that explains the transition from paganism to Christianity. The first two verses are as follows:
This day was sacred, once, to Pan,
And Kept with song and wine;
But when our better creed began
’Twas held no more divine,
Until there came a holy man,
One Bishop Valentine.
He, finding, as all good men will,
Much in the ancient way
That was not altogether ill,
Restored the genial day;
And we the pagan fashion still
With pious hearts obey.
Some say the tradition of sending Valentine greetings started much later, with a Frenchman named Charles, Duke of Orleans. The oldest known Valentine gift still in existence today was a poem written by the duke. Imprisoned in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt, Charles reportedly passed time by writing romantic verses for his wife.
The greeting, written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. By the 16th century, sending written expressions of affection on Valentine’s Day became commonplace. Many other traditions have since become an important part of Valentine’s Day.
Cards, gifts, and the promise of eternal love are the most common way that we express our feelings on this very special day each year. In the United States, the first commercially printed Valentine’s Day cards appeared in the early 1800s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, first made her elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons, and colorful pictures.
Valentine’s Day has also become a highly profitable business, one in which billions of dollars are spent each year throughout the economy. Over $1 billion is spent on candy alone.
While we may enjoy and anticipate Valentine’s Day and the gifts we both give and receive, it is important to remember that this very special day originated with no gifts whatsoever, but rather an promise of eternal love and happiness that cost nothing at all.
As always,
Brian
P.S. — The entry in The Roman Martyrology for The Fourteenth Day of February is as follows (bold is mine):
AT Rome, on the Flaminian road, in the time of the emperor Claudius, the birthday* of blessed Valentine, priest and martyr, who after having cured and instructed many persons, was beaten with clubs and beheaded.—Also, at Rome, the holy martyrs Vitalis, Felicula, and Zeno.—At Teramo, St. Valentine, bishop and martyr, who was scourged, committed to prison, and as he remained unshaken in his faith, was taken out of his dungeon in the dead of night and beheaded by order of Placidus, prefect of the city. In the same place, the holy martyrs Proculus, Ephebus and Apollonius, who, whilst watching by the body of St. Valentine, were arrested and put to the sword by the command of the exconsul Leontius.—At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Bassus, Anthony, and Protolicus, who were cast into the sea.—Also, the holy martyrs Cyrion, priest, Bassian, lector, Agatho, exorcist, and Moses, who perished in the flames and took their flight to heaven.—In the same city, the Saints Denis and Ammonius, who were beheaded.—At Ravenna, St. Eleuchadius, bishop and confessor.—In Bithynia, the abbot St. Auxentius. At Sorrento, St. Anthony, abbot, who, when the monastery' of Monte Cassino was devastated by the Lombards, withdrew into a solitude of the neighborhood, where, celebrated for holiness, he passed calmly to his repose in God. His body is daily glorified by many miracles, and particularly by the deliverance of possessed persons.
Thanks be to God.
*In the language of the Church, Birthday refers to the day on which a Saint enters heaven. However, the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Baptist are exceptions to this rule.
To buy your copy of The Roman Martyrology on Amazon (the version I own):
And please say a prayer for all of these holy martyrs.
