The legend of Valentine's Day

In the days of ancient Rome, the fourteenth day of February was a pagan holiday which honored Juno. Juno was the queen of the Roman gods as well as the goddess of women and marriage. The next day, the fifteenth, was the first day of the Festival of Lupercalia. This festival honored Juno and Pan who were two Roman gods. Fertility rituals were held on this day. On the night before the festival started,it was customary for the names of the Roman girls to be written on slips of paper. These slips were then placed in a container and then each boy drew a name of the girl who he would be coupled with for the entire Lupercalia festival.


Rome was under the authority of Emperor Claudius the Second, and he was a vicious warrior, not to mention the fact that he was insane. His armies lacked the sufficient number of soldiers it needed, and Claudius could not figure out why more young men didn't want to go to battle. Finally, he determined that the young men didn't want to leave their wives, families and girlfriends. In order to remedy this, the Emperor instituted a new law and canceled all of the marriages and engagements in Rome.

In the mean time, there lived a priest in Rome by the name of Valentine. He did not believe in the Emperor's new law, and he refused to abide by it. He continued to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. He lived in constant fear that he would be caught by Emperor Claudius' soldiers, but he persisted in doing what he knew was right. Finally, the day did come when Bishop Valentine was caught uniting a man and a woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. The soldiers dragged him to stand before Emperor Claudius' throne. The Emperor condemned the Bishop to be put to death for his violation of the law.


While the priest was imprisoned, waiting for his execution, many young couples threw notes of thanks along with flowers and other gifts into the window of his cell. Among these young people who admired the priest for doing the right thing was the prison guard's own daughter. Her father allowed her to visit Bishop Valentine in his cell. During these visits, the two would talk and laugh and share each other's thoughts. Finally, the day arrived when Bishop Valentine was scheduled to die. It was the fourteenth of February in the year of 270 AD. While he was waiting for the soldiers to come and drag him away, Bishop Valentine composed a note to the girl telling her that he loved her. He signed it simply, "From Your Valentine."


Finally, in the year 496 AD, Pope Gelasius did away with the pagan festival of Lupercalia, citing that it was pagan and immoral. He then chose Bishop Valentine as the patron saint of lovers, who would be honored at the new festival on the fourteenth of every February.


Over the years, Valentine's Day has evolved into a holiday when gifts, cards, flowers and candy are given to the ones we love or would like to start a relationship with. And it is all because of a brave, righteous man named Valentine.

Author unknown
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summery:
The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian martyr. The emporer was Claudius II. The Christian was Valentinus.

Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve gods and he had made it a crime, punishable by death, to associate with Christians. But, Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ, and not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs. He was arrested and imprisoned.

During the last weeks of Valentinus' life a remarkable thing happened. Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons. She had been blind since birth. Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind. Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her. He described the world of nature to her. He taught her arithmetic and told her about God. She saw the world through his eyes, trusted in his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.

"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia said one day.

"Yes, my child, He hears each one," he replied.

"Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night? I pray that I might see. I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"

"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.

"Oh, Valentius, I do believe," Julia said intensley, "I do." She knelt and grasped his hand.

They sat quietly together, each praying. Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell. Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see! I can see!"

"Praise be to God!" Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer.

On the eve of his death, Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, uring her to stay close to God and he signed it "From Your Valentine" His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Ports Valentini in his memory. He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome. It is said that Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship. On each Feburary 14th, St. Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world.