Valentine’s Day

The holiday’s roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia,a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February the 14th. It originated as a Western Christian Liturgical feast day honoring one or more early saints named Valentinus and is recognized as a significant cultural and commercial celebration in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country. Several martyrdom stories associated with the various valentines that were connected to february 14 were added to martyrologies including a popular hagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome which indicated he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the roman empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment Saint valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius and before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed “ Your Valentine” as a farewell. The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th century England, it involved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other and presented flowers and offering sweets. Each year people exchange cards, candy. Gifts, or flowers with someone they appreciate a lot. The day gets its name from a famous saint, but there are several stories of who he was. The popular belief about St Valentine is that he was a priest from Rome in the third century AD. Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers.Valentine's Day: A Day of Romance. Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”–at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day.“Being my Valentine means that you're that special and the only person I will be spoiling the day of,” Ganz explains. “It doesn't mean we are in a relationship. It just means for that day, I express to you in words, gifts and actions what you or your friendship means to me in a more intimate manner.”When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.