Every February, across the country, four-star restaurants become booked, heart-shaped candy gets passed around, rose petals lay on the ground, and Valentine’s Day Gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. 

If you’re like me, when someone says Valentine’s Day the first thing that comes to mind are the material aspects of the holiday. But who can we attribute the red roses to and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine’s Day and its patron saint is a mystery to most of us.

St. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains a combination of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? 

There are several theories on the identity of the real Valentine. In Christian history, there are several martyrs with the name Valentine and two share the feast day of  February 14th. Both of these saints were martyred in Rome (Valentine of Terni in around AD 197 and Valentine of Rome in approximately AD 496).

One legend states that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II valued single men more than those in relationships and named them to be better soldiers, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, being someone who valued love and relationships, went against this law and performed marriages for lovers in secret. When Valentine was exposed, Claudius ordered that Valentine be put to death.

“Valentine’s Day has always been such a special day to me no matter who I spend it with. The cards and candy are a big part of Valentine’s Day for me, but I also think that it’s important to not get so caught up in this and use store bought things as a measurement of love,” said junior Angelina Cambo.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured. While doing so he apparently taught each prisoner the importance and value of sharing love and kindness with one another and how much good it can do for someone.

According to another legend, Valentine actually sent the first valentine greeting himself. 

 While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with a young girl who happened to be the jail’s head guard’s daughter. This young lady often visited him during his confinement and before his death wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today. 

 Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is still up in the air and will probably always be, the stories certainly tell a story of a sympathetic, heroic, and most importantly, symbol of love.

As these stories spread around the world, in the beginning of the seventeenth century ,Great Britain and Germany started to celebrate Valentine’s Day. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. This quickly progressed to printed cards replacing written letters due to improvements in technology. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell and profit off the first mass-produced valentine’s merchandise.

In today’s world, marketing is largely responsible for transforming the celebration of Valentine’s Day into a hugely commercial event and money magnet for companies. So, with the large amount of money that is spent at this time of year, it’s important to stop and take a moment to think about the history of this event and why this special day is associated with true love, not just $500 dinners.

With all of this said and done, all are free to spend this grey area of a day however they’d like, while showing love, of course.