Happy
Valentine’s Day! The now secular holiday is named after St. Valentine, a
martyred Christian saint who became the inspiration for an American
holiday dedicated to love. Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint
Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a holiday designated
to celebrate love, that love it or hate it, is here to stay.
But
how did it come about and when did it become so
commercialized?Beginning as a commemoration for an early Christian
martyr, Valentine’s Day has largely become a secular holiday celebrated
the world over—even in some Islamic countries—where local customs have
adopted celebrating love.
Read on to learn more about Saint Valentine and the modern Valentine’s Day.
1. There Was More Than One ‘Saint Valentine
“Valentine” was a common name in early Christendom and thus, there was more than one martyr that modern Valentine’s Day can be attributed to.
The
two Valentines that are typically identified with February 14 are
Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni (an area in central Italy.) The
Roman one was a priest, the Terni one was a bishop. They were both
persecuted by the Emperors at the time and both had terrible deaths that
eventually got them elected to sainthood.
Their
remains exist in shrines all over Europe, including Italy, England, and
Ireland. Saint Valentine’s skull is on display in Rome and is adorned
with flowers.
2. There Are Many Legends About Saint Valentine
As for non-historical stories about Saint Valentine, there are quite a few.
In The Dictionary of Christianity, author J.C. Cooper writes that Saint Valentine was “a priest of Rome who was imprisoned for succouring persecuted Christians.”
The most common folk story about Saint Valentine is
that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian. He was brought to
Roman Emperor Claudius II, but Valentine impressed Claudius and they
ended up having a conversation in which Valentine tried to convert
Claudius from paganism to Christianity. Claudius refused and had
Valentine executed. But before his execution date, Valentine allegedly
healed his jailer Asterius’ blind daughter, giving her back her sight.
The jailer then converted to Christianity, along with the rest of his
household.
Embellishments
to the basic story above are usually added to the narrative of Saint
Valentine, with other stories circulating. There really is no historical
authenticity to any of them, though.
As
for how cupid got pulled into all this, Saint Valentine allegedly wore a
purple amethyst ring with cupids around it that was a legal symbol
under Roman law that the person wearing it could perform marriage
ceremonies. The historicity of Saint Valentine and this Roman custom is
also up for debate. But amethyst has since become the birthstone for
February.
3. Chaucer Made the First Modern Connection Between Valentine’s Day & Love
The monk Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of Canterbury Tales, wrote the first modern literary reference to Valentine’s Day equating to a celebration of love. (And oddly enough the first modern literary reference to the superstition of “13”, leading to “Friday the 13th.”)
The
first reference to an annual February 14 festivity celebrating love was
written 18 years later in year 1400. According to the book Debate of the Romance of the Rose by
David F. Hult, the Charter of the Court of Love, allegedly issued by
Charles VI of France at Mantes-la-Jolie, is charter that describes a
celebration where everyone would gather to feast and celebrate all
things love.
4. The Modern Valentine’s Began in 19th Century
The modern Valentine’s Day as we know it somewhat began in the 19th century. With
the rise of the industrial age and mechanical printing, Valentine’s Day
cards became more accessible than ever and quickly became all the rage
in England. This caught in the Americas by the 1840s and has been
commercialized more so ever since.
Now in 2017 it is the bane of singles and the annual celebration of love for couples everywhere.
5. It is Celebrated All Over
As
stated above and as you probably know, once called “Saint Valentine’s
Day” has become “Valentine’s Day” and has become a mostly secular
holiday.
But
while all these celebrations of love usually fall on February 14, the
name “Valentine’s Day” is reserved distinctly for America and European
nations. In other corners of the world the day is usually referred to as
some alteration of “lover day” or “love day.”
In
fact, some Islamic-majority countries have been the holiday. Yesterday
it was reported that the High Court of Pakistan issued a nationwide ban
on Valentine’s Day.
