In honor of St. Valentine we celebrate Valentine’s Day every February. We send jewelry, flowers, candy and cards to our loved ones. Who is St. Valentine and why do we honor him? During third century Rome Emperor Claudius II thought that unmarried young men made better soldiers then ones with wives. He put this thought into action and outlawed marriages for men, hoping to build a stronger military. Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who secretly wed young lovers. Claudius ordered Valentine’s death once he found out.
Some believe that the first ‘valentine’ was sent by Valentine himself. During his imprisonment he fell in love with his jailers daughter. Before his death he sent a letter and signed it “From Your Valentine.” This endearment is still in use today. Although the truth behind all the legends are still clouded in mystery, the stories express his appeal as a romantic and heroic figure. It’s no wonder why he was one of the most popular saints by the middle ages. Even though Valentine greetings date back to the middle ages, written Valentine’s didn’t appear until after 1400AD. In the 1840s Esther A. Howland, the Mother of Valentine, created the first mass-produced valentines in America. Today Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-sending holiday.
