The History of Valentine Day (2024)

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The History of Valentine Day? ›

The Roman Emperor imprisoned Valentine for his insolence and later beheaded him on February 14 for refusing to forsake his faith, thus making him a “saint” for his martyrdom. A legend surrounding a different (or the same?) Valentine weaves a love story between Valentine and his jailer's blind daughter, Julia.

Turns out, it was a pretty common name during Late Antiquity. As far as anyone can tell, the Saint Valentine of Valentine's Day was one of two guys preaching the good word in Rome in the third century. One of these two was martyred on February 14th 269, thus giving us the date for his eponymous day.

Valentine's Day did not come to be celebrated as a day of romance until about the 14th century. Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 ce by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus.

The day was commemorated for martyred saints named—you guessed it—Valentine. Differing legends celebrate three different saints called Valentine or Valentinus, but since very little was known about these men and there were conflicting reports of the St.

One Valentine was a priest in third-century Rome who defied Emperor Claudius II after the ruler outlawed marriage for young men. St. Valentine would perform marriages in secret for young lovers, ultimately leading to his death.

1 John 4:7-12. Dear friends: let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

St Valentine's Day is an annual festival to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration. Every year on 14 February people celebrate this day by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends.

Held in mid-February, the festival celebrated the coming of spring with raucous celebrations and fertility rites. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius forbade the celebration of Lupercalia, and some suggest that he replaced it with a day to celebrate the martyred St. Valentine.

While the holiday has undergone secularization over time, its origins in Christian martyrdom and acts of love align with broader spiritual themes of compassion, selflessness, and devotion. For some, Valentine's Day serves as a reminder of the importance of love in both human relationships and spiritual practice.

If that works for you, do it. But the biblical pattern teaches us that romantic love between husband and wife should be on display often and much. It isn't that celebrating Valentine's Day is too much; it is too little and weak. Christians, live your married years so that you don't need Valentine's Day.

Is Valentine's day a pagan holiday? ›

Some scholars have suggested that Valentine's Day has its roots in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia. Celebrated on February 15, Lupercalia was a bloody and even brutal affair in which animals would be sacrificed in the Lupercal cave at the base of Palatine Hill in Rome.

1929 – Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago. 1939 – World War II: German battleship Bismarck is launched. 1942 – World War II: Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.

/ˈvælɛntaɪn/ IPA guide. Other forms: valentines. A valentine is a sweetheart: specifically, someone who receives a greeting or attention on Valentine's Day. There are many words for someone you like in a romantic way, such as sweetie, main squeeze, boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, and special someone.

According to NPR, Emperor Claudius II of Rome executed two different men named Valentine on February 14 (in two different years) during the third century. One account of St. Valentine says that he was a priest who was arrested for defying a Roman decree that forbade soldiers from marrying.

It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

The day is named after a Christian priest, Valentinus, who lived in the late third century AD and was beheaded on the orders of the pagan Roman emperor Claudius II on 14 February, a date subsequently commemorated by Christians as his feast day. But how did this bloody tale transform into a celebration of love?