Who was Saint Valentine? And why do we celebrate every February 14 by giving gifts to our loved ones? The most popular candidate for Saint Valentine is a priest from the time of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. Claudius believed that young single men made better soldiers, so he outlawed marriage for them, but a priest named Valentine defied him and secretly continued to marry young lovers. Sentenced to death by the emperor and imprisoned, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter.
The first “Valentine” is reputed to be the letter he wrote to her before his death signed, “From your Valentine.” The origins are really pretty obscure, but we do know that Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as Saint Valentine’s Day around 498 AD.
Saint Valentine was a very popular saint in England and France and by around 1750 it was an established custom in both countries to exchange letters and small gifts with loved ones on Saint Valentine’s Day. The oldest known Valentine still in existence today is a poem written in 1415 from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife, and is a piece in the collection of the British Library in London.
In 1835, Pope Gregory XVI gave the supposed remains of poor Valentine, housed in a black-and-gold casket to an Irish priest named John Spratt and every Valentine’s Day they can be seen at the Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin. But if you can’t get to Ireland this February with your sweetheart, then give them another treat. Lavish them with kindness and appreciation every single day, and give them a special token of your affection. Perhaps a heart to wear as a symbol that your heart is theirs to keep forever or another special gift to show your appreciation for the love that makes your life a joy.
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