We all know on Sunday that it is the either most loved day or hated day, which is Valentines Day. For me I am spending this Valentines day alone. In fact, I’ve never actually had a date for Valentines Day, so I can’t find it in me to tell you what to buy your loved one because I have never had to buy anything.
So I thought a great idea would be to teach some of you the history of this day as history is definitely something I could quite easily write about.
However, the history of the origins of St Valentine’s Day is a little hazy, as the Catholic Church recognises at least three different Saints that were named Valentine and all three of them were martyred.
Legend says that St Valentine was a priest who served in Rome during the third century. The Emperor at the time realised that young men who were not married made better soldiers than those who were, so he banned the marriage of young men. Valentine defied the Emperor and married people in secret. When the marriages were discovered the Emperor ordered the death of Valentine.
Another theory is that Valentine could have been killed as he attempted to let Christians escape harsh prisons where they were beaten and tortured. According to legend, the imprisoned Valentine was the first person to send a ‘valentine’ after he fell in love with a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Before his death he signed the letter with ‘From your Valentine’ which is an expression still used today.
Even though the history of Valentine is a little hazy, all the theories/legends seem to portray Valentine as a sympathetic, heroic and romantic person.
I hope you found this interesting!
Are you doing anything nice this Valentines Day? Let me know!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
~Ciara~