VALENTINE'S DAY: An Overview.

Saint Valentine's Day, better known as simply Valentine's Day, is the annual commemoration of love celebrated on February 14.  Valentine's Day was created by Pope Gelasius I in 500 AD to honor the Christian martyrs named Valentine. The religious observance of the day was deleted by Pope Paul VI from the Roman calender of saints in 1969 but is still often permitted.

Catholic Pope Gelasius established St. Valentine’s Day in 496. It is based on the legend of St. Valentine, a Christian priest during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. 

 Claudius, called Claudius the Cruel, was unhappy that so few young men were showing up for his wars and decided they weren’t coming to fight because they didn’t want to leave their wives and girlfriends. To remedy the situation, he announced a ban on marriage.

Claudius was also busy persecuting Christians. St Valentine, a Christian priest, thought the marriage ban ridiculous and continued to perform secret marriages and also worked to help Christians escape persecution.

Claudius soon found the renegade priest and threw him in prison. While in prison, Valentine converted his jailer to Christianity after restoring the sight of the man’s blind daughter. One version of the story has St. Valentine then falling in love with Julia, the jailer’s daughter. 

Before his execution for refusing to renounce his faith, he sent Julia a note signed, “From Your Valentine.” The date of his execution and of the love note was February 14th.

The saga of the young priest, who was tortured and killed for trying to protect love and marriage and for his Christian beliefs, has intrigued writers for centuries. 

Some authors say St. Valentine had been demoted among Catholic Saint rankings. Though he is still a recognized as a Catholic Saint, his demotion was due to the lack of enough historical records to authenticate all of his deeds.

Valentine's Day was first related to romantic love by Geoffrey Chaucer during the Middle Ages. Until the 19th century handwritten valentines were often given rather than modern mass-produced greeting cards. It is often celebrated with expressions of love, and gifts of chocolates, flowers, and cards known as "valentines." Symbols of modern Valentine's Day include heart shapes, figures of winged Cupid, and doves.

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