On 14 February, all the nations celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day, usually by the way of exchanging cards, sweets, lingerie, flowers, jewelry, or any type of gift that might express the feeling of love.
What exactly are we celebrating, is it just a holiday the retail stores invented for the increase of profit? This idea is possible; however, it is not true. Valentines is the Christian celebration of Saint Valentines.
We are following a Christian and ancient Roman tradition. By now, the Catholic Church recognizes three Saints by the name of Valentine, or Valentinus.
The first myth concerning the celebration of Valentine’s Day is the following:
During the 3rd century a priest by the name of Valentine, under Claudius II in Rome, secretly disobeyed the law.
Claudius had come to believe that a single soldier was a better soldier than a married young man was and so decided to outlaw marriage in order to have very young strong men with no wives at his disposal.
Valentine, the priest, did not obey this law and continued to celebrate the holy bond of marriage for young couples in secrecy.
Of course, the way it always works with secret clauses, Claudius caught the priest and decided to execute him.
The second legend states that Valentine was a prisoner who fell in love with a young woman, who came to see him often, and that she was his jailors daughter. Before his execution, he wrote her a love letter, signed with ‘Your Valentine’.
No one is even sure if 14 February was the day of his birth or his death or if it had indeed anything to do with Saint Valentine at all. The only thing that is sure is that the Romans had a tradition in the middle of February, which would mark the 14th, called the Love Lottery. It was believed that spring and with it, the renewal of life came along in the middle of February, therefore the love lottery was held, coupling young men and women for one year, often leading to marriage.
The USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the United Kingdom celebrate Valentine’s Day.
What exactly are we celebrating, is it just a holiday the retail stores invented for the increase of profit? This idea is possible; however, it is not true. Valentines is the Christian celebration of Saint Valentines.
We are following a Christian and ancient Roman tradition. By now, the Catholic Church recognizes three Saints by the name of Valentine, or Valentinus.
The first myth concerning the celebration of Valentine’s Day is the following:
During the 3rd century a priest by the name of Valentine, under Claudius II in Rome, secretly disobeyed the law.
Claudius had come to believe that a single soldier was a better soldier than a married young man was and so decided to outlaw marriage in order to have very young strong men with no wives at his disposal.
Valentine, the priest, did not obey this law and continued to celebrate the holy bond of marriage for young couples in secrecy.
Of course, the way it always works with secret clauses, Claudius caught the priest and decided to execute him.
The second legend states that Valentine was a prisoner who fell in love with a young woman, who came to see him often, and that she was his jailors daughter. Before his execution, he wrote her a love letter, signed with ‘Your Valentine’.
No one is even sure if 14 February was the day of his birth or his death or if it had indeed anything to do with Saint Valentine at all. The only thing that is sure is that the Romans had a tradition in the middle of February, which would mark the 14th, called the Love Lottery. It was believed that spring and with it, the renewal of life came along in the middle of February, therefore the love lottery was held, coupling young men and women for one year, often leading to marriage.
The USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the United Kingdom celebrate Valentine’s Day.
In the British museum, you can view the oldest known Valentine’s card.
Valentine’s Day became an official Catholic Holiday in the year 496 or 498 AD Pope Gelasius declared the 14 February to be Saint Valentine’s Day.
Since then the symbol of valentines became the color Red, specifically the valentine red heart.
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