By The TimesLedger
The time-honored tradition of St. Valentine’s Day is said to have begun around the year 270 A.D. This was the era of the Roman Emperor Claudius, whose insatiability to conduct never-ending wars of conquest on the rest of the world began to have its debilitating effect on the Roman people themselves, especially the young men who resented being plucked from their homes, wives and families to engage in a foreign war they didn’t really understand.
So they simply refused to join up. This, of course, displeased Claudius who was concerned with the small number of recruits available for his armies. He thereupon imposed a ban on all marriages during wartime in order to stem the flow of defectors. The ban, however, had little effect on the young people who wanted to get married.
Word spread of a much-loved priest named Valentine who secretly performed marriage ceremonies for large numbers of young men and women from all over. But, like all secrets, if more than one person knows, it no longer is a secret. In due course, word of these clandestine marriages got back to Claudius who ordered the immediate arrest and imprisonment of the priest, Valentine, who was later beheaded for his transgressions. The date of his martyrdom is reported to be Feb. 14, 270, one day before the festival of hupercalia, or “fertility day.” One of the ways of celebrating this particular day was the placing of names of eligible young ladies in a jar from which the eligible young men were invited to draw. The lady whose name was selected became the man’s consort for a year – a period long enough for the parties to determine their suitability for marriage.
But as Christianity was beginning to spread throughout Europe, the church sought to do away with Pagan holidays. Valentine’s Day came to replace hupercalia.
In honor of his sacrifice for love, Valentine was made a saint. Today, after 1,732 years, the Christian world still pays homage to this saintly man, dedicating Feb. 14 as a day for the expression of love and devotion of one person for another, mainly in the form of gifts, flowers, boxes of candy or simply a card.
