Before his execution, he allegedly wrote her a letter signed “From Your Valentine,” an expression still in use to this day. This legend tells of an imprisoned Valentine who sent the very first ”valentine” from himself to a young girl he fell in love with, possibly the jailer’s daughter, who visited him in prison. Others theorize that Valentine may have lost his life because he attempted to save early Christians from the Roman prisons where they were tortured and beaten to death. When Claudius became aware of his blatant disobedience, he ordered that the priest be put to death around AD 270. Valentine defied the decree and secretly continued to perform marriages for young lovers. Celebrated in the middle of February, some believe that the day commemorates the anniversary of the death of a third century Roman priest named Valentine.Īs one of the stories go, Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriages in Rome because he believed that single men made better soldiers than those with emotional ties to wives and children. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, and to Romulus and Remus, the infant founders of Rome who, according to mythology, were tended to by a she-wolf or lupa. The Valentines Day Holiday Has Roman Origins Nevertheless, this day of lovers is always hallmarked by record sales in floral bouquets, candy, cards and perfume, and is vastly celebrated throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. Research indicates that much more is steeped in legend than secured by fact. How did this centuries old pagan holiday honoring lovers originate? Valentine’s Day and romance are forever linked, as are all the accompanying flourishes such as: flowers, chocolates and erotic fragrances designed to attract the opposite sex.
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