Here are various articles on the origin/history of Valentine's Day. #1 The Story Of St. Valentine's Day Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular military campaigns. Claudius the Cruel, as he was known at the time, was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. This was when a Christian priest named Valentine came to defend love in the empire. Valentine began to secretly marry couples despite the emperors orders. When Emperor Claudius was informed of these ceremonies Valentine was sent to prison where he remained until his death on February 14 in the year 270, when Valentine was clubbed, stoned, then beheaded. History claims that while Valentine was in prison awaiting execution, he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer, Asterius. Through his unswerving faith, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine", a phrase that still lives today. If this is true, that would have been the first Valentine's card. It wasn't until a few hundred years later when Valentine's Day began to develop as we know it. At the time Christianity was beginning to take control of Europe. As part of this effort the Church sought to do away with pagan holidays. Valentine's Day came to replace a mid-February fertility festival called Lupercalia. In honor of his sacrifice for love, Valentine was made a saint and Lupercalia renamed in his honor. Until today the tradition of honoring Valentine continues. The themes of love and fertility taken from the ancient meanings of the holiday have endured and evolved with our contemporary adaptations of its meanings. #2 Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. THE good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way. #3 THE TRUE HISTORY OF VALENTINES DAY by Mani Niall 5th Century, Rome Mid February was traditionally the time of the Lupercian festival, an ode to the God of fertility and a celebration of sensual pleasure, a time to meet and court a prospective mate. In AD 496, Pope Gelasius outlawed the pagan festival. But he was clever to replace it with a a similar celebration, although one deemed morally suitable. He needed a "lovers" saint to replace the pagan deity Lupercus. The martyred Bishop Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of the new festival. Saint Valentine had been beheaded for helping young lovers marry against the wishes of the mad emperor Claudius. Before execution, Valentine himself had fallen in love with his jailer's daughter. He signed his final note to her, "From Your Valentine", a phrase that has lasted through the centuries. Pope Gelasius did'nt get everything he wanted. The pagan festival died out, it is true, but he had further hoped people would emulate the lives of saints. Instead they latched onto the more romantic aspect of Saint Valentines religious life. While not immediately as popular as the more passionate pagan festival, eventually the concept of celebrating true love became known as Valentines Day. #4 Saint Valentines Day by Rev. Robin Dumolin The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a book entitled "The Nuremberg Chronicle, " the great "picture book " of the fifteenth century, printed in 1493. The text that accompanies the woodcut picture of him states that he was a Roman priest who was a martyr during the reign of Claudius II. The Latin edition of this book states his feast day as March 16, but the German edition that followed declares it to be February 14. Saint Valentine's actual name was Valentinus. He was said to have demonstrated courage and valor in helping Christian martyrs being persecuted under Emperor Claudius II in Rome, during a time when giving any kind of aid to Christians was considered a crime. Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned for this crime. One year after his imprisonment, Valentinus appeared before the emperor and attempted to convert him to Christianity. The emperor was so impressed with Valentinus' dignity that he tried to save him by converting him to the Roman Gods, asking Valentinus, "Why wilt thou not abide in amenity and worship idols, and renounce the vain opinion of thy creance?" Valentinus replied, "I say of thy gods none other thing but that they were men mortal and merchant, and full of odure and evil." Valentinus was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs, stoned and finally beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. After his death, this gate was known as Porta Valentini, later being renamed Porta Popolo. There is a legend that says while awaiting his execution, he befriended his jailer's blind daughter whose sight he restored to her. According to Alfonso Villiegas, in his book "Lives of Saints, " the jailer was Asterios, one of the Emperor's lieutenants. He and his family were converted to Christianity by St. Valentine, and they were condemned to death by Claudius II. Furthermore, according to legend, on the eve of Valentinus' death, he wrote a farewell message to the jailer's daughter and signed it, "From your Valentine. " This is how Valentine's Day evolved. Wolves lived around Rome in ancient times. The wolves killed the sheep outside the city walls, as well as some humans. The Romans prayed to the God Lupercus, guardian of the flocks, to protect them. The holiday started out to honor him. Throughout the years Lupercus became less important. The holiday turned into a celebration honoring Juno, queen of the Roman gods. She ruled over marriage, so the holiday became one of love. At this celebration it was the custom for boys to draw by lot the names of girls who would be their partners during the feast. Later, when Christian pastors wanted to abolish heathen customs, they gave the celebration a Christian touch by substituting in the lot the name of saints for the name of girls. By the year 496 AD the Christian church had become very powerful. The head of the church, Pope Gelasius didn't like or believe in the Roman gods. He turned the celebration into a church holiday by honoring St. Valentines death on this day. By 1400 people all over Europe celebrated this day as a holiday as love. When the English came to America, they brought the holiday to the New World. What about the symbology of Valentine's day? Red hearts have denoted love since ancient times. Ribbons go back to the days when ladies gave ribbons to their favorite knights when they went to war. Roses and violets both stand for love. Lace comes from a latin word, it means "to catch. " Lace was supposed to catch the heart of a loved one. Cupid was the Roman god of love. #5 The Story of Valentine's Day The holiday of Valentine's Day probably derives it's origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia. In the early days of Rome, fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February 15th. The festival was celebrated as a spring festival. Their calender was different at that time, with February falling in early springtime. One of the customs of the young people was name-drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man drew a slip. The girl whose name was chosen was to be his sweetheart for the year Legend has it that the holiday became Valentine's Day after a priest named Valentine. Valentine was a priest in Rome at the time Christianity was a new religion. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, ordered the Roman soldiers NOT to marry or become engaged. Claudius believed that as married men, his soldiers would want to stay home with their families rather than fight his wars. Valentine defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married the young couples. He was eventually arrested, imprisioned, and put to death Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, the eve of the Roman holiday Lupercalia. After his death, Valentine was named a saint. As Rome became more Christian, the priests moved the spring holiday from the 15th of February to the 14th - Valentine's Day. Now the holiday honored Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus #6 Saint Valentine's Day Legends On February 14th almost everyone, with the exception of Charlie Brown & myself, will receive a card spouting a big red heart, filled with sweet tidings. In other words a Valentine's day card, as they have become known since they were introduced in the eighteenth century. Valentine's Day is a special day that has been set aside in order to honor "love". It is most famous for being a time of celebrating "romantic love". So as the 14th of February approaches many will begin plans to find that right card, order those flowers, or make reservations for that candlelight dinner. Yet, few will stop and ponder along the way why this date is singled out, or just who this Valentine fellow was that he should have a day named after him. Who was Valentine? This question is not an easy one to answer. Depending on which book you read you might find one author making the case that there was two different men named Valentine whose lives were mixed together to form one legend, and another arguing that two different legends arose about the same man. Even still another author might say that there were three men named Valentine. Here are several synopsis or different stories... •Valentine was a Roman priest who was martyred during the persecution of Claudius the Goth around A.D. 269 or 270 and buried on the Flaminian Way. •Valentine was a bishop of Terni martyred in Rome. •Valentine as a young, though unsaved helped Christians during a time of persecution. He was caught and put in jail, became a believer there and was clubbed to death for this on February 14, 269. While in prison he is said to have sent messages to friends saying, "Remember your Valentine" and "I love you". • In one story it is said that Valentine was a priest that secretly married couples, defying the law of Emperor Claudius which temporarily forbid marriages. • Valentine was imprisoned for refusing to worship pagan gods. Making friends with the jailers daughter, he is said to have cured her through prayer, and on the date of his execution (Feb. 14th) he is said to written her a not signed "Your Valentine". The one thing we can be sure of is that at least one person by the name of Valentine did live and that he was killed for being a Christian. Beyond this we are on shaky ground. The 14th of February was set apart as the special day to remember Saint Valentine. This was one day before the Roman feast of Lupercalia, a pagan love festival. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia from the 15th to the 14th to try and stop the pagan celebration. The church realized that there was nothing wrong with celebrating love, only the pagan elements insulted God. Lupercalia was done away with, but it had left it's mark on Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine had become known as the patron of lovers. Part of the Roman festival of Lupercalia was the putting of girl's names in a box and letting the boys draw them out. These couples were supposedly paired off for the whole year. A similar practice was began in the fourteenth century. A sweetheart was chosen for a day by lot. This was done to correspond with the belief that the springtime mating of birds took place on Valentine's Day. Messages sent between these randomly chosen pair were a forerunner of the modern Valentine's Day Card. Specially printed card for Valentine's were just becoming common by the 1780's. They were a big hit in Germany where they were called Freundschaftkarten, or "friendship cards." So, should Christians celebrate Valentine's Day? Absolutely. Though we're not quite sure who Valentine was, we certainly know that God approves of love, even romantic love. Let's just make sure that Valentine's Day is an extra special day to display even more love than usual to those around us, and not our only day show love this year. #7 The Legend of Saint Valentine The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian martyr. The emperor was Claudius II Gothicus. The Christian was Valentinus. Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship state religion's idols, 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. During the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing happened. One day a jailer for the Emperor of Rome knocked at Valentinus's door clutching his blind daughter in his arms. He had learned of Valentinus's medical and spiritual healing abilities, and appealed to Valentinus to treat his daughter's blindness. She had been blind since birth. Valentinus knew that her condition would be difficult to treat but he gave the man his word he would do his best. The little girl was examined, given an ointment for her eyes and a series of re-visits were scheduled. Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might also be brought to Valentinus for lessons. 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 believe in HIM," Valentinus said. "Oh, Valentinus, I do believe," Julia said intensely. "I do." She knelt and grasped his hand. They sat quietly together, each praying. Several weeks passed and the girl's sight was not restored. Yet the man and his daughter never wavered in their faith and returned each week. Then one day, Valentinus received a visit from Roman soldiers who arrested him, destroyed his medicines and admonished him for his religious beliefs. When the little girl's father learned of his arrest and imprisonment, he wanted to intervene but there was nothing he could do. On the eve of his death, Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia - knowing his execution was imminent. Valentinus asked the jailer for a paper, pen and ink. He quickly jotted a farewell note and handed it to the jailer to give to his blind daughter. He urged 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 Porta Valentini in his memory. When the jailer went home, he was greeted by his little girl. The little girl opened the note and discovered a yellow crocus inside. The message said, "From your Valentine." As the little girl looked down upon the crocus that spilled into her palm she saw brilliant colors for the first time in her life! The girl's eyesight was restored! A miracle! 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. In 496 Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as Saint Valentine's Day. On each Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love and devotion are still exchanged around the world.