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The most awaited day every year is Valentine’s Day or February 14th! Why? It is on this day that one individual expresses his/her love and esteem for another. The gestures used to express such feelings are candy, cards and flowers. Schoolchildren, adults and teenagers–all are eager for this day to come. Youngsters exchange cards which depict symbols of the heart and cupid. Though people remember this day as just being associated with romance, there is a story behind this, and it is associated with a figure called St. Valentine.

Rome was ruled over by Emperor Claudius II during the third century. There was a Catholic priest in his empire named Valentine. The trouble began when the Emperor found that no one wanted to join his army. The men did not like the idea of being away from home for long stretches of time. And this inevitably was the case since Claudius II always sent his army to distant places after recruitment.

Extremely upset by what was happening, the Emperor reached the conclusion that young men would be more willing to join his army than the older ones. After all, what did they have to lose since they were unmarried? But to make doubly sure, he passed a law forbidding young men from marrying! Having no choice and finding a willing supporter in Valentine, some young men requested him to perform their marriages in secret. Sadly, he was discovered by Claudius, and arrested. He was kept in prison, to be sentenced to death.

A sympathetic prison guard allowed his young daughter to visit the unfortunate Valentine, and it’s said they became fast friends. Just before his death sentence was carried out, legend holds that Valentine presented her with a letter, signed “from your Valentine”. That simple greeting was the forerunner of today’s Valentines Day.

The Vatican eventually declared Valentine a Saint. In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius I declared the date of his death in 270 A.D., February 14th, St. Valentine’s Day, a day to express sentiments of love and romance, celebrating the power of the spirit over the material world.

By the Middle Ages, St. Valentines Day was one of the most popular European celebrations of the year. While imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415, Charles, the Duke of Orleans, sent his wife a card on St. Valentines Day, a practice that continues to this day.

All over Europe, enthusiastic lovers devised various gifts and practices to express their devotion to their lovers on Valentines Day. In Wales, wooden spoons were carved with hearts and keys to show how the recipient could unlock their heart. All over Europe, names were drawn from bowls and then pinned to their sleeves to declare their love to their chosen Valentine. Men offered gifts of clothing to their loved ones. When the woman accepted, they were then betrothed.

Whatever it may be, St. Valentine’s Day is here to stay. And St. Valentine has been responsible for creating the most “loved” unofficial holiday in the world! The customs of yesteryears do not survive today; they have been replaced by candy, cards and flowers. Some enjoy candlelight dinners. Whatever, love has survived the stresses of time!