February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, incorporates elements of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?
One legend suggests that Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, seeing the injustice of this decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered his execution.
Others insist that it was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop, who was the true namesake of the holiday. He, too, was beheaded by Claudius II outside Rome.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after falling in love with a young girl—possibly the daughter of his jailer—who visited him during his confinement.
Allegedly, before his death, he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," a phrase that remains in use today. Some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial, which likely occurred around A.D. 270.
Others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia.
Lupercalia was celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15. It was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed at the end of the 5th century by Pope Gelasius, who declared February 14th as St. Valentine's Day due to its "un-Christian" nature. However, it was not until much later that the day became definitively associated with love.
WHO IS CUPID?
Cupid, often portrayed on Valentine's Day cards as a naked cherub launching arrows of love at unsuspecting lovers, has his roots in Greek mythology as the Greek god of love, Eros.
According to the Greek Archaic poets, Eros was a handsome immortal who toyed with the emotions of gods and men, using golden arrows to incite love and leaden ones to sow aversion. It wasn't until the Hellenistic period that he began to be portrayed as the mischievous, chubby child that we see depicted on Valentine's Day cards.
