The Legend of ST

The Legend of St.
Valentine
The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that t. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains !estiges of both "hristian and ancient #oman tradition. $ut who was aint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite% The "atholic "hurch recogni&es at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. 'ne legend contends that Valentine was a priest who ser!ed during the third century in #ome. When (mperor "laudius )) decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wi!es and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, reali&ing the in*ustice of the decree, defied "laudius and continued to perform marriages for young lo!ers in secret. When Valentine's actions were disco!ered, "laudius ordered that he be put to death. 'ther stories suggest that Valentine may ha!e been killed for attempting to help "hristians escape harsh #oman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. +ccording to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first ,!alentine, greeting himself after he fell in lo!e with a young girl--possibly his *ailor's daughter-who !isited him during his confinement. $efore his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed ,From your Valentine,, an e-pression that is still in use today. +lthough the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasi&e his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. $y the .iddle +ges, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in (ngland and France.
Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February

While some belie!e that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anni!ersary of Valentine's death or burial--which probably occurred around +.D. /01--others claim that the "hristian church may ha!e decided to place t. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to ,"hristiani&e, the pagan celebration of 2upercalia. "elebrated at the ides of February, or February 34, 2upercalia was a fertility festi!al dedicated to Faunus, the #oman god of agriculture, as well as to the #oman founders #omulus and #emus. To begin the festi!al, members of the 2uperci, an order of #oman priests, would gather at a sacred ca!e where the infants #omulus and #emus, the founders of #ome, were belie!ed to ha!e been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, #oman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was belie!ed to make them more fertile in the coming year. 2ater in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.
Valentine's Day: A Day of Ro an!e

2upercalia sur!i!ed the initial rise of "hristianity and but was outlawed5as it was deemed 6un-"hristian7--at the end of the 4th century, when 8ope 9elasius declared February 3: t. Valentine's Day. )t was not until much later, howe!er, that the day became definiti!ely associated with lo!e. During the .iddle +ges, it was commonly belie!ed in France and (ngland that February 3: was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for romance. Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the .iddle +ges, though written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 3:11. The oldest known !alentine still in e-istence today was a poem written in 3:34 by "harles, Duke of 'rleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of 2ondon following his capture at the $attle of +gincourt. ;The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the $ritish 2ibrary in 2ondon, (ngland.< e!eral years later, it is belie!ed that =ing >enry V hired a writer named ?ohn 2ydgate to compose a !alentine note to "atherine of Valois.
Ty"i!al Valentine's Day #reetings

)n addition to the @nited tates, Valentine's Day is celebrated in "anada, .e-ico, the @nited =ingdom, France and +ustralia. )n 9reat $ritain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 30th century. $y the middle of the 3Ath, it was common for friends and lo!ers of all social classes to e-change small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 3B11 printed cards began to replace written letters due to impro!ements in printing technology. #eady-made cards were an easy way for people to e-press their emotions in a time when direct e-pression of one's feelings was discouraged. "heaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. +mericans probably began e-changing hand-made !alentines in the early 3011s. )n the 3A:1s, (sther +. >owland began selling the first mass-produced !alentines in +merica. >owland, known as the 6.other of the Valentine,7 made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as ,scrap., Today, according to the 9reeting "ard +ssociation, an estimated 3 billion ValentineCs Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. ;+n estimated /.D billion cards are sent for "hristmas.< Women purchase appro-imately A4 percent of all !alentines.

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The Legend of St.

Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February

Valentine's Day: A Day of Ro an!e

Ty"i!al Valentine's Day #reetings

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