St. Valentine’s day is one of the most secular religious holidays. It may be named after a Christian Saint, but it can often be hard to understand how Saint Valentine’s day relates to the real person of Valentinus.
The historical Valentinus was either a priest or a bishop in Rome during the 3rd century A.D. He was both unmarried and celibate meaning romance was not part of his life. He spent most of his ministry fighting against Roman authorities persecuting Christians. He illegally married Christian couples in a religious ceremony, which allowed these newly married men to be exempt from being drafted into the Roman army. He was arrested several times for evangelizing to Roman citizens. After one arrest he was sent to see the Emperor of Roman, Claudius Gothicus. Claudius took a liking to Valentinus and treated him well until Valentinus tried to convert Claudius to Christianity. The Emperor was enraged by this and ordered Valentinus to renounce his faith or be beaten to death by clubs. Valentinus stood by his faith and was beaten with clubs and stones, before finally being beheaded outside of Flaminian Gate on Feb. 14th, a date that became the first Valentine’s day.
It seems a little odd that we celebrate the violent execution of this Christian martyr by sending romantic partners, cards with poetic verses, a dozen bright red roses, French assorted chocolates, and so many other things to celebrate that first Feb. 14th. Then to top it all off we sign all of it from “Your Valentine.” Valentinus also signed “Your Valentine,” on a note left the day of his execution to a young girl he cured of blindness. On that note he wrote about the promises we have in our Christian faith. Valentinus’s Valentine’s day card may not have been about romantic love, but when he signed “Your Valentine” it was a sign of love, Christian Love.
Valentine’s day is a holiday of love. A day where we can not only show love to those people that we feel romantic love for but also those connected with Christian love, our friends, children, family. We can all be each other’s “Valentine.”
Peace, Ben