| It seems this egotistical, cruel Emperor Claudius II of Rome was involved in many a bloody and unpopular military operations, as egotistical, cruel emperors are. He was having a difficult time recruiting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed the reason was that the men did not want to leave their families or loved ones. So, as cruel egotistical emperors do, he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Boy, he sure wouldn't get anywhere today with that one, since how does once cancel shaking up?
As always, where there's a villain in a story, so goes it there's always a hero. A Christian priest by the name of, you guessed it!, Valentine, came to the rescue. He began to secretly marry couples against the Emperors orders. When the good ole Claudius found out about these cryptic ceremonies, he had Valentine arrested and sent to prison. He remained in prison until his death on Feb 14th in the year 270. However, while in prison, story has it he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. Prior to his death he signed a farewell note to here and signed it "From Your Valentine". It wasn't until a few hundred years later that Valentines Day began to develop as we know the holiday today. At the time Christianity was beginning to take control of Europe. As part of this effort the church sought to do away with pagan holidays. Hence Valentines day replaced a mid-February fertility festival called Lupercalia. In honor of his sacrifice for love, Valentine was made a saint and Lupercalia renamed in his honor. So, folks, since this man sacrificed himself, in the name of love, by being clubbed, stoned and finally beheaded, perhaps we should give a more value to this "thing called love". |