When you hear the words “Valentine’s Day” you think of a flying angel with a bow and arrow, chocolate, hearts, roses, and anything remotely romantic, right? Well, it may surprise you that the history of Valentine’s Day is not quite as romantic as you would think.

Around 498 AD, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14^th St. Valentine’s Day in honor of the Christian martyr, St. Valentine. Many hold the belief that Pope Gelasius’ declaration was meant, in part, to Christianize a pagan fertility festival, Lupercalia, which was celebrated between February 13^th and 15^th. Regardless, commemorating the life and death of St. Valentine was the focus of proclaiming February 14^th as St. Valentine’s Day.

St. Valentine was a priest during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men since he believed that single men would be more willing to fight in wars for the Roman army. However, not everyone agreed with this decree. Among those who opposed the ban was St. Valentine himself, who decided to conduct marriages between Roman youths in secret. Eventually, St. Valentine’s work was discovered, and he was sent to jail while he awaited his beheading.

One legend surrounding St. Valentine’s imprisonment is that couples he had secretly married came to visit him, bringing gifts of flowers and notes. Another legend tells the story of St. Valentine falling in love with the jailer’s daughter, whom he had written a farewell letter to signed, “From Your Valentine” the night before his execution. St. Valentine was executed on February 14^th in 270 AD, which is also his day of remembrance in the Church.

The idea of St. Valentine’s Day being a day of love and romance began to sprout during the Middle Ages due to the common belief that birds began to look for their mates at that time of year.

Eventually St. Valentine became known as the patron saint of lovers, and his remembrance day became a day for demonstrating love for each other. Perhaps each Valentine’s Day you will remember the man after whom this holiday is named. I hope you all had a very happy Valentine’s Day with your loved ones and perhaps a bit of chocolate as well.