Many people celebrate Valentine’s day, a holiday of love and romance. Few people however know the history behind the holiday and its origins. This holiday started as the pagan Roman festival of Lupercalia. A fertility festival which was thought to bring a blessing on the people and their land.

The holiday was later Christianized into saint Valentine’s day. This is where the holiday becomes confusing. Most people don’t know that there are in fact three saints by the name of Valentine or some form of it from this era alone. All of them were martyrs, which makes it even harder to find the true identity of the saint for which this holiday was named and what truly happened.

One of the most popular theories was about a priest who performed marriage ceremonies for Roman soldiers. Even though it was prohibited by the current Roman emperor Claudius II. He was reportedly put to death for his deeds. He was later recognized as a martyr and saint by the Catholic church.

Similar to many of it’s contemporary holidays, Valentine’s day finds it roots in a pagan festival. An example of this would be Halloween which was originally a Celtic festival of the dead.

Josiah Weimer ’16 shared his knowledge of the history of Valentine’s day and what he likes to do on this day.

“Valentine’s Day was named after the third century Christian, Valentine of Rome, who was martyred on February 14.” Weimer said. “The Catholics proclaimed February 14 St. Valentine’s day, in honor of the late Christian.  My family and I celebrate Valentine’s Day by drawing each other’s names and making one special valentine card for the person whose name we drew. On Valentine’s Day, we give these valentine cards to each other.”

Valentines day has a very complex history with many different thoughts on how it started, regardless it has still changed greatly from it’s origin hundreds of years ago.

Hannah Nale ’17 shared her thoughts on what she believes the best part of the holiday is.

“I don’t know a lot about the history of Valentine’s Day except that there was a saint named Valentine and started it as a Christian holiday for God.” Nale said. “I enjoy getting candy for friends and writing notes to all my best friends. The best part of Valentine’s Day for me is getting to spend time with all my loved ones and also my family!”

There are many martyrs named Valentine in the Catholic church. One of the most recently canonized would be Valentine Berrio Ochoa who was canonized in 1988. He was a Dominican bishop in Vietnam and was beheaded in 1861.    

Cate Vanderkooi ’18 shared her traditions of Valentines day and what she enjoys to on this holiday.

“To celebrate Valentine’s Day I usually just stay at home and watch TV, or sometimes I get together with friends for a party.” Vanderkooi said. “My favorite memory of Valentine’s Day would be exchanging valentines in elementary school. I loved trading candy and reading all the notes I received. The best part of Valentine’s Day for me is receiving candy and watching everyone get gifts. I love hanging out with people around Valentine’s Day.”

One of the reasons there are so many Valentines in the Catholic church is that the root of the name in Latin means worthy or strong. A meaning that could be especially popular for people who wanted to make a change and seeing as many of the Valentines are martyrs this does not come as a surprise.    

Harjot Chhina ’19 talked about what he remembers about the holiday.

“I know that it is a national holiday that celebrates love and shows your loved ones you care for them.” Chhina said. “We bring home a cake and me and my brother make cards for my mom and dad. My favorite Valentine’s day memory is making cards for my parents at school when I was younger.”

The author used these sources for this article: History of Valentines day and Six surprising facts about St. Valentines

For more articles please read: Baseball field upgrades  or Chinese New year

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @matthewsue1 and via email: Matthew Sue.

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