HISTORY49 - Valentine's Day
I recently discovered that there is some mystery about the origin of Valentine’s Day. And since the annual holiday is rapidly approaching, I thought the history of Valentine’s Day would make for good blog. On February. 14 th , lovers of all ages will exchange cards, flowers, candy, and more lavish gifts in the name of Saint Valentine, a Roman Catholic priest who lived in third century AD. Valentine’s Day originated as a church feast to honor the decapitation of Saint Valentine as a Christian martyr. This will be the story of how we got from celebrating a beheading to celebrating romantic love on Valentine’s Day. I’ll caution you upfront that much of the first part of this story is based on legend and folklore. I’ll start with a summary of the legends of Saint Valentine. Next, I’ll discuss the original Saint Valentine’s Day, proclaimed in AD 496, that honored Saint Valentine’s death. Then, I’ll skip (as history does) to 14 th century England, where the seeds were planted to