THE STORY OF SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY

Every February, across Europe and its former colonies, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious person, and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day is both fascinating and shrouded in mystery. Not only was Valentine a sympathetic, heroic, and romantic figure, he was a committed believer.

We go back to 260 AD, to the hills of central Italy that surround the golden city of Rome, to gorgeous valleys filled with farms, orchards, and vineyards and little villages. People were still called by one name back then, rather than having a first and last name; men still wore tunics and robes. The Roman Empire was still in place but starting to crumble from within due to immorality and corruption, and it was facing enemies at its northern gates - the European barbarians.

Situated among the farms and vineyards of the Valerina Valley, we find the bustling town of Terni in the hills due north of Rome, and there we see a young man, trained as a physician, studying parchments. The parchments, however, are not medical in nature - they are the writings of the early church fathers and copies of the scriptures. This young man, Valentine, studied under the mentoring of his pastor and eventually was asked to serve as a pastor of one of the congregations in Rome (before the days of the Roman Catholic Church, Popes, etc.). Several years later, while still single and in his 30s, his mentor passed away and Valentine became the overseer (bishop) of the congregations in his home town of Terni.

In the year 268 AD, Claudius II became the emperor of the steadily weakening Roman Empire. In those days, military leaders became emperors to keep the empire safe from attacking European tribes. Claudius was tall, with fiery eyes, and so strong that he could knock out the teeth of man or beast with one punch. He and another commander supposedly conspired to kill the previous Emperor, Gallienus, saying that someone else had stabbed him in his tent, adding that the emperor's dying words handed the Empire to Claudius. Famous for fighting back Germanic and Gothic raiders in northern Italy (Milan area), Claudius was also known for being cruel and harsh to the Christians of the early church.

Within several months of becoming emperor, Claudius decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, so he outlawed marriage for all young men in the Province of Umbria, which included Rome and Valentine's town of Terni. He also somewhat encouraged homosexuality among his soldiers, believing that men would fight harder to preserve the lives of their lovers fighting beside them. Valentine, realizing the injustice and immorality of this decree against marriage, secretly defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers, especially the young Christian couples of Terni.

It was a dangerous time for Christians. Although Claudius didn't engage in the wholesale slaughter of believers, like the emperors before and after him, Christians were still mistreated, imprisoned, beaten and lost their businesses because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Terni was no exception to the rule. As a physician, Valentine, with another pastor named Marius and his family, assisted Christians who were being persecuted, when even helping them was considered a crime. They managed to sneak into prisons to provide medical help to Christians who were being beaten and tortured.

After several years of eluding authorities, Valentine was caught and imprisoned for giving aid to Christians in prison. Valentine's jailor became acquainted with the young doctor-pastor and in passing mentioned that he had a blind daughter. Valentine asked to see her, and through his medical know-how and by the Lord's grace, he was able to restore sight to the jailer's daughter. Both the jailor and his daughter placed their faith in Christ. Claudius heard of this act of benevolence and took a liking to his prisoner … until Valentine made a strategic error - he tried to convert the Emperor. Angry, Claudius condemned him to death.

Now, legend has it that Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote a letter to the jailor's daughter, which he signed "Your Valentine." Because of the use of the word "Your," two theories exist - pick your favourite: 1) that while he was there in prison, Valentine fell in love with the jailor's daughter who visited him during his confinement., or 2) that, because of his selfless kindness, his leading them to saving faith, and his impending death, the jailor and his daughter grew very close to Valentine, and he loved her as a sister.

Valentine was sent by the emperor to the Prefect of Rome who found that an offer of riches and positions would not make Valentine renounce his faith. The Prefect ordered Valentine to be beaten with clubs and then stoned. Since the young man survived this ordeal, when others would have died, Valentine was then taken out to Rome's Flaminian Gate and beheaded. That was on February 14, in the year 269 AD. He was buried in the catacombs along the Flaminian Way, one of the many roads that led into Rome.

The news of Valentine's selfless life and his death spread throughout Umbria, and fueled the conversions of many more. In the years that followed, any person acting in selfless love around the Province of Umbria was called a "Valentine."

About 80 years later, in the year 350 AD, things were different. The emperor himself, named Constantine, had professed faith in Christ, and changed the official religion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. A church building was built in Valentine's memory near where he was buried. As the Roman Empire crumbled in 476 AD, the gate known as the Flaminian Gate where he had been killed became known as Valentine's Gate.

The Romans had a lewd, superstitious custom each February 15th where boys drew girls' names in honor of the goddess of sex and fertility, called "Februata Juno." In 496 AD, a pastor named Gelasius and several other Roman pastors, seeing the perfect opportunity to replace a lewd February 15th holiday with one of honorable love and romance on February 14th, "baptised" the mid-February holiday as Valentine's Day.

Eventually declared a saint by the Catholic Church, Valentine became one of the most popular saints in England and France in the Middle Ages. People began to superstitiously believe that half way through February, the love of Saint Valentine began to affect all of nature, and the birds began to pair off and chose their mates. The famous old English author, Geoffrey Chaucer, of Canterbury Tales fame, wrote in 1389:

For this was sent on Saint Valentine's Day
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.

For this reason, the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for sending lovers' tokens and writing love letters signed by "Your Valentine." Other traditions vary from culture to culture, like pinning bay leaves to your pillow on Valentine's Eve so that you will see your future mate that night in your dreams.

But all in all, Valentine of Terni was a brave, heroic, compassionate, and loving man whose selfless love and courageous deeds upheld the sanctity of marriage, brought comfort to a host of believers in the difficult days of the early church, and showed the way of salvation to the lost. Valentine is one of us, and we should be glad to celebrate a day in honour of his love and his death.