Have you ever wondered why people celebrate Valentine’s Day?
The holiday known for red and pink decorations, chocolate and crowded restaurants started with a bishop called Valentine in 3rd century Rome.
Emperor Claudius II banned his soldiers from marrying out of fear they would lose focus in their roles and become weak. So, Valentine married couples in secret. In doing so, he protected men from being sent to war because they were married.
Eventually he was discovered and arrested.
While he was in prison, Valentine’s jailer, Asterius, asked him to use his saintly power to cure his daughter Julia’s blindness. He succeeded and became close friends with her.
Claudius II gave Valentine an ultimatum: accept the marriage ban, and by extension leave his bishophood, or die.
He chose to die, but before his execution, Valentine wrote to Julia telling her to remember the love of Christ. He signed the letter, “from your Valentine” and sent it to her via dove.
When Valentine was executed on February 14 273 AD, he became a martyr and a symbol of love.
Pope Gelasius I canonised Valentine as a saint in 469 AD. St Valentine became the patron saint of lovers, epilepsy and beekeepers. The origins of Valentine’s Day are confused because it is possible that St Valentine was made up of accounts of multiple Christian martyrs around that time.
Now Valentine’s Day is known for cards, red roses and romantic dates, but we should also remember the bravery and sacrifice of a bishop thousands of years ago.
Featured image credit: RDNE Stock Project via Pexels
Third year journalism student. 2025/2026 Lifestyle and Comment Editor at Brig. Published in The Yucatán Times, Mi Campeche and The Mourning Paper. Host of From the 40s with Air3Radio.
