| By Nate Loken | February 28, 2022 |
Valentine’s Day--named after the Catholic Saint Valentine is the celebration of love, romance and most importantly, chocolate.
There is a great deal of mystery surrounding the origins of Valentine’s Day. There are many different theories and possible explanations for the creation of the holiday. There’s even debate over which St. Valentine inspired the holiday. In total, there are around a dozen different Saint Valentines, one of whom was a pope. The most prevalent consistencies between all the legends of St. Valentine are the central themes of love and martyrdom.
One of the most popular theories contends that the priest St. Valentine, who lived in Rome during the third century, began the tradition. St. Valentine of Rome was known for his defiance of Emperor Claudius the II’s decree that young men were no longer allowed to marry, The Emperor believed single men to be better soldiers than married men and wished to increase the strength of his military. St. Valentine performed marriages in secret until he was discovered and put to death for treason. The anniversary of his death, February 14th became the Feast of Saint Valentine and later, Valentine’s Day. Some believe it was in fact, the bishop St. Valentine of Terni for whom the holiday was named.. He too was martyred by Emperor Claudius, and some historians suggest he and St. Valentine of Rome may have been one and the same.
However, other theories contend that Valentine aided Christians in escaping Roman prisons. One legend describes the first “valentine” ever sent, by Valentine himself. He allegedly sent a letter to a young girl from prison, signing it “from your Valentine,” an expression used commonly on Valentine’s Day nowadays.
Fun Facts About Valentine’s Day
You don’t have to celebrate Valentine’s Day on only the 14th of February! The Catholic church officially honours St Valentine on the 6th of June as an elder of the church and on the 30th of June as a martyr. In addition, celebrations have occurred on November 20th for St. Valentine of Viterbo, January 7th for St. Valentine Raetia and on July 25th, for the celebration of the only female Saint Valentine, also known as Valentina.
Saint Valentine’s bones have been scattered across the world. His flower-adorned skull is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Other parts of his skeleton are on display in the Czech Republic, France, England, Ireland and Scotland.
St. Valentine is the patron saint of engaged couples and happy marriages in addition to beekeeping, epilepsy, plaque, fainting and traveling.
Pope Valentine served for only 40 days, due to his sudden death.
We hope you learned something about this holiday and wish you a happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at the Bears Bulletin!
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