St. Valentine's Day - Born of Legend or History?

Who is St. Valentine, the patron St. of February 14th, the day upon which we lavish gifts and tokens of love upon our loved ones? No one really knows for sure, but history and legend have combined to give us an interesting account of who St. Valentine is and how the holiday we love to celebrate with balloons, candy, roses, cards, and chocolate came to be.

By all accounts it is almost certain that St. Valentine's Day has its root in both pagan and Christian traditions. Like many other holidays, Valentine's Day seems to have been co-opted by the Catholic Church in an attempt to Christianize a pagan holiday.

Our first clue about Valentine's Day can be found in the ancient pagan festival known as Lupercalia. Some believe the tradition started to honor the she-wolf Lupe, who is believed to have suckled Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. The Roman god of Lupercus may have been the honorable god of the festival. Others feel that the festival was more in keeping with the honoring of the Roman god of fertility, Faunus.

The celebration, if you can call it that, of Lupercalia, involved ritual animal sacrifice. Then, young men dressed as male goats, the symbol of sexuality, would run through the streets slapping women with strips of the sacrificial animal skin. This action was believed to ensure fertility for the coming year.

As horrible as the Festival of Lupercalia sounds, it lasted into the 5th century. It is said that at that time Pope Julius I adapted the holiday and decreed the first Valentine's Day on February 14th, naming the day after a St. Valentine.

Who is St. Valentine?

One legend identifies St. Valentine as a priest in Rome during the reign of Claudius II, during the 3rd century A.D. Claudius was aggressive and ambitious and believed that single men made better soldiers. He pressed his men so hard that those who had families became disheartened and could not fight to their potential. This did not sit well with Claudius II who placed a ban on marriage.

A ban on marriage was outrageous to the priest Valentine. He continued, despite Claudius II's decree, to marry young lovers in secret. When Claudius II became aware of the priest's actions he was taken prisoner and sentenced to death. Legend has it that appreciative young couples whom the priest Valentine had wed visited his cell giving him flowers and notes to encourage the dear old soul.

Other versions of the legend surrounding this priest Valentine suggest that his passion and crime was that of helping Christians escape Roman imprisonment. A mission that ultimately led to his capture and imprisonment.

The legends converge upon the time, whatever the reason, priest Valentine, was in prison.

It is believed the priest fell in love with his jailer's daughter. Having no other way of demonstrating his love toward her, Valentine wrote her a note on the day of his execution, February 14th. The note to his beloved was signed, "Your Valentine." This could have given birth to the tradition of giving and receiving love notes and flowers on February 14th.

It is then, perhaps this Valentine, who upon become a martyr, became known as St. Valentine who was invoked when Julius I decreed the first Valentine's Day. This story could give us the answer to the birth of the Valentine tra dition of giving and receiving love notes, flowers, candies, and other repasts of faithfulness and adoration to the ones we love.

Sources:
"Lupercalia." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (January 27, 2011). http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day
http://www.history.com/topics/cupid
History of Valentine's Day Video