Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day or
the Feast of Saint Valentine,[1] is a celebration observed on February 14 each year. It is
celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not a public
holiday in most of them.
St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or
more early Christian saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various
Valentines that belonged to February 14, and added to later martyrologies.[2] A popularhagiographical account of Saint Valentine of Rome
states that he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry
and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his
imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment
to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed
"Your Valentine" as a farewell.[3] Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion,[4] as well as in the Lutheran Church.[5] The Eastern Orthodox
Church also celebrates
Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6 and July 30,
the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni).
The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition ofcourtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an
occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by
presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").
In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers "as a romantic
symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart", as well as to
children, in order to ward off epilepsy(called Saint Valentine's Malady).[6] Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include
the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the
winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way
to mass-produced greeting cards.[7]
Historical facts
but in a different location than Valentine of
Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Shrine of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street
Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland
Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.[8] The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of
Rome (Valentinuspresb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinusep.Interamnensis
m. Romae).[9] Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred
about AD 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church
and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which "remained an important pilgrim site
throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred
to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV".[10][11] The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited
in the Basilica of Santa Maria in
Cosmedin, Rome. Other relics
are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.[12]
Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is
said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via FlaminiaTerni (Basilica di San
Valentino). Jack B. Oruch states that "abstracts of the acts of the
two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe."[13] The Catholic
Encyclopedia also speaks of a
third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was
martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about
him.[14] Saint Valentine's head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster,
Winchester, and venerated.[15]
February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentine's Day in
various Christian
denominations; it has, for example,
the rank of 'commemoration' in the calendar of saints in the Anglican Communion.[4] In addition, the feast day of Saint Valentine is also given in the calendar
of saints of the Lutheran Church.[5] However, in the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feast day of Saint Valentine on February 14
was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or
even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of
Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart
from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on
the Via Flaminia on February
The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be
found, and also throughout the world byTraditionalist
Catholics who follow the
older, pre-Second Vatican Council calendar. In the Eastern Orthodox
Church, St. Valentine's Day is
celebrated on July 6, in which Saint Valentine, the Roman presbyter, is honoured;
furthermore, the Eastern Orthodox Church observes the feast of Hieromartyr
Valentine, Bishop of Interamna, on July 30.
