To me, Valentine’s Day is a holiday of love and gifts and to remember Saint Valentine, a priest who served during the third century in Rome. During this time, marriage for young men was outlawed because it seemed that single men made better soldiers. 

St. Valentine did not agree with this law and still continued to perform marriages secretly for young couples. What St. Valentine did took a lot of bravery. He showed that love is more important than any law or rule. I like to celebrate this holiday to show my appreciation for St. Valentine. I appreciate how much he cared about the importance of love. Although when Emperor Claudius found out what Valentine was doing, he declared that he should be put to death. Before Valentine’s death, he fell in love with a young woman. He then wrote her a letter and signed it “From Your Valentine ” which is an expression still used today. 

Although we celebrate St. Valentine on Feb. 14th, the date was chosen by Christians to celebrate St. Valentines and bring attention to Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a festival in Rome that promoted purification, good health, and fertility. It was a bloody, violent and sexually charged celebration with animal sacrifices, random matchmaking, and coupling in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility. 

Soon Lupercalia was outlawed because of the “un-christian” actions. Then, not much later, the day became a day of love. Love letters became more and more popular to send to loved ones with an ending of “From your Valentine”. 

Valentines began to get very common in the 17th century, but by the middle of the 18th century, it became very popular for friends and lovers to exchange gifts and cards. With my loved ones every year I made it a tradition to get them all a kind card or small gift or chocolates, or maybe flowers. 

Once technology started to improve, printing companies began to print out cards for individuals to buy for their valentine. Hallmark, a card company, sells an estimate of 140 million Valentine Day cards, which would make Valentines the second largest card-sending holiday. I love putting in the effort to make my loved one a card. Although sometimes I do buy a card if I am in a rush I think it means just a little bit more if you made the card. 

That is the story of why Valentine’s Day is the way it is. That’s why we spend time on making or buying cards. That is why we spend time with loved ones, to celebrate the day of a priest who believed people should still be able to love. To know more about St. Valentines you can visit https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2 to learn about all the traditions of Valentine’s Day.