A whole day of roses, chocolates, movies coated in about five layers of tackiness, and widespread feelings of romance or dread depending on your circumstance. Valentine’s Day is a well-known holiday, but that’s not such universal knowledge, is how the infamous holiday came to be.
While legends of the holiday’s inspiration vary, they are all centered on one main figure: someone by the title of Saint Valentine. One story claims that Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. Emperor Claudius II instituted a rule that single men were better soldiers than those who had wives and family. So, he banned marriage. Valentine, not liking one bit of Claudius’ new craze, continued performing secret marriages for young lovers. When Valentine’s actions were found out by Claudius, he was sentenced to death. So, according to this story, Valentine’s last moments weren’t particularly fortunate. But, chin up, he does have a pretty cool holiday named after him. Viva la hopeless romanticism!
Our next gruesome story indicates that Valentine was killed after helping Christians escape the clutches of harsh Roman prisons. I don’t like this theory as much. Not incredibly romantic, so in light of the holiday at hand, we’ll move on.
Our last story is slightly less tragic, not at all idyllic, and pathetically romantic. It also happens to be my favorite rendition of Valentine’s history. The tale goes that while in prison, Valentine wrote the first actual “valentine” note before his death to a girl that he was in love with, who was, scandalously, the jailor’s daughter. Quite the affair. The letter is believed to have ended with, “From your Valentine,” a phrase that has carried over into today’s lexicon.
Although it’s likely we will never know the true history of the holiday, most of the stories are romantic, and all are a tad bit sad. If we can choose which one to believe is true, I’m going to stick to a more forgiving and romantic version, and leave out a bit of the gore.
Saint Valentine was an idealist in all of the possible histories he may have lived. When celebrating Valentine’s Day, we should remember to be optimistic, loving, and considerate people not just during the holiday, but moving forward.