Remembering the “Saint” in St. Valentine’s Day

Most of us in the United States celebrate Valentine’s Day as the day when we are obligated to purchase a card and/or gift for the one special person in our life, whether it’s for a lover and/or husband or wife, fiancé, girlfriend or boyfriend.  We call this special day “Valentine’s Day”, often overlooking the “Saint” prefix to the name.  February 14^th is St. Valentine’s Day and there’s a real Saint who’s, by legend, responsible for the choice of days to celebrate love and, as legend states, for the very first Valentine message.

The history of St. Valentine’s Day is riddled with legend and folklore and it’s rather difficult to distinguish true historical facts from embellished fiction.  Here’s the best I could find that is generally believed to be fact:

• Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb.m. Romae) was a man who lived in Rome in AD 269 during the reign of Emperor, Claudius II. 
• He was a Christian priest.
• He died on February 14^th and was buried on Via Flaminia in Rome.
• His relics can be found today at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

The story most frequently told about Valentine was that Claudius II had him killed and Valentine became a martyr.  There are seeds of truth in the story, but how much of it is true has never been proven.  It seems that the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, was having a tough time filling the ranks of his army.  During his reign, Rome was fighting bloody and unpopular wars. The men were complaining that they could never see their wives and loved ones and had no desire to be soldiers.  To solve this dilemma, Claudius II forbid new marriages and cancelled all engagements.  Surely this would give the men incentive to fight! 

There is no testament whether this ploy worked in Claudius’ favor or not.  What it did accomplish was marriages became underground and clandestine – much like prohibition in the US during the 1920’s when alcohol was illegal but flourished in spite of the law.  Priests like Valentine and another Saint-to-be, Marius, continued to practice Christian traditions and secretly wedded young couples.  

When Claudius II discovered that the priest was defying his law he had Valentine jailed and sentenced to death.  The story goes that while he was in prison, the young people whom he married and who looked up to the priest for his strength threw flowers to him.  This could very well be why we give flowers on St. Valentine’s Day.  He had many admirers, especially one young lady who stole his heart as well.  She was the daughter of the jailer who was allowed to visit Valentine while he was imprisoned.  The legend has been embellished in some circles to say that the girl was blind and Valentine healed her.  It was this girl who received the very first Valentine’s card.  The night before his death he wrote her a note to thank her for her friendship and signed it, “Love from your Valentine.”  The next day, February 14^th, Valentine was beheaded for his “crime” of following his faith and breaking Claudius’ ridiculous law.  For that he was bestowed the honor of Sainthood by the Catholic Church.

It’s a lovely story, whether it’s true or not, and it’s romantic – as it should be.  After all, it is about St. Valentine’s Day.

The practice of giving St. Valentine’s Day cards was “reinvented” in the mid 1800’s by Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts who printed them in mass.  Presents along with the cards became popular in the mid 20^th century. 

Today we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day in the US by giving presents to our loved ones with a special card.  Flowers, of course, are frequently given.  Roses have become the most popular. Chocolates are traditional and, thanks to promotion by the diamond industry, jewelry too. 

St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in different ways throughout the world and it is not always called St. Valentine’s Day.

In Norway and Denmark February 14^th is known as “Valentinsdag” and is generally ignored although lovers might take advantage of it for a special romantic night out.  It’s “Ystavanpaiva” in Finland and is more about friendship than love.  In Wales January 25^th is celebrated as a day to commemorate St. Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers.  On February 14^th the Welsh traditionally give as St. Valentine’s Day presents carved wooden spoons embellished with hearts, keys and keyholes.  The Turkish celebrate “Sevgililer Gunu” which interprets literally to “Sweet Hearts Day”.  Brazil celebrates June 12^th as “Dia dos Namorados” or “Boyfriend / Girlfriend’s Day”.

Of all the reasons to celebrate a day of “love” the intriguing story of one man’s selfless commitment of preserving the sanctity of the Christian marriage and his paying the price for it is the most endearing one.  After studying Saint Valentine’s legend I will always try to remember that there is a Saint before Valentine’s Day.

copyright, 2008 Pond Doc's Home and Garden