The History of Valentine’s Day

There are a lot of opinions about how Valentine’s Day got started, and some are nicer ideas than others. One of the most common opinions is that Valentine was a priest. When marriage was outlawed because the Emperor thought that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, Valentine went ahead and kept performing marriages in secret because he cared about people who were in love. He was put to death for this, according to the legend.

Whether that’s true or not is really not known, because the origins of the holiday are, for the most part, a mystery. Other legends say that he helped people escape harsh treatment by the Romans or that he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter while in prison and wrote her a letter, which is how the sending of valentines got started.

No matter how the legend began, Valentine’s Day is big business today with cards and flowers and candy. Some men also buy their girlfriends jewelry for the day, and it’s a popular time to get engaged as well. This tradition of love will continue well into the future.