St. Valentine was Beheaded for Performing Marriages: Happy Valentine’s Day

St. Valentine was beheaded for performing marriages after Claudius 1rst outlawed the act.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Well, well, well… Here we are again; buying candy, filing out cards, and picking up flowers to commemorate the occasion in which St. Valentine’s head left his body.

Saint Valentine (Valentus) was a priest in Rome during Claudius the 1rst reign in the 3rd century. Claudius believed young men were too busy being romantic and falling in love when they should fight for Rome. With a stroke of his pen, Claudius outlawed marriage. Valentine disagreed with the edict and secretly officiated marriages. This act angered Claudius, who then had St. Valentine imprisoned and sentenced to death. Tradition has it he was stoned, beaten with clubs, and beheaded on February 14th either in 270 ad or 269 ad.

Or was it this Valentine?

St. Valentine of Terni, a Bishop in the Catholic Church who also was ministering during Claudius’ reign. This Valentine was imprisoned for helping Christians escape prison. When he was caught, he too was beheaded. While he was in his jail cell, it is rumored that he wrote a love note to his jailer’s daughter (again a rumor) and when he signed his name, he wrote, “From your Valentine.” If that’s true, he wrote the first Valentine’s Day card.

Or they could be the same person. Nobody knows for sure.

Or, there could be other reasons for Valentine’s Day.

Lupercalia was a pagan holiday celebrated during the month of February. The holiday was a celebration of fertility, dedicated to Faunus, the God of Agriculture. The festival also honored the founders of Rome; Romulus and Remus.

During Lupercalia, Roman priests would sacrifice a goat and strip the hide off the dead animal. Then, the priests would dip the strips of flesh into blood. After the priests dipped the hide in blood, they walked through the town, slapping women and crops so they could be fruitful during the year. Some historians believe nude men racing through town wearing wolf skins hit the women. At the end of the festival, young maidens placed their names into a cauldron. Bachelors reached their hands into the pot and whoever’s name came out was who they were matched with for the year, hoping a marriage would soon follow. Now, isn’t that just the sweetest?

In the 5th Century, Pope Gelasius was trying to end pagan rituals and decided that February 14th would be christened “St. Valentine’s Day.” The holiday was far from being a “Hallmark” holiday at its beginning. It wasn’t until much later, in 1375, when Geoffery Chaucer wrote the poem “Parliament of Fouls,” where he likened love to birds mating.