What is romance without some mystery? In the best romantic tradition, the history of Valentine’s Day is equally steeped in fanciful legends, where fact and fiction have blurred, but that has only added to its mystique!

Who Was Saint Valentine?

Did you know that the day that is observed the world over as a celebration of love and friendship was actually the martyrdom day of Saint Valentine, a fearless priest dating back to the 3rd century A.D.?

Saint Valentine was a priest in the empire of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. Faced with a shortfall of young men to enlist in his army for his military campaigns, Claudius calculated that it was love towards their wives and families that prevented these men from joining his army. Incensed, he ordered that every marriage and engagement be declared null and void. Can you imagine the furore this must have caused?

Uncaring for his own life and safety, Saint Valentine secretly married couples, but his kind deeds were soon discovered and he was thrown into the dungeons. The gaol keeper’s daughter befriended him and it was to her that Saint Valentine addressed his farewell note, signed, “from your Valentine”.

The Emperor condemned the saint to be beheaded and he suffered martyrdom on the 14th February, 270 A.D.

But, though Saint Valentine was martyred, he set into motion a custom that has flourished for more than seventeen hundred years! Yes, following his example, people started exchanging love and friendship messages on 14th February each year and Saint Valentine became the Patron Saint of this date! Today, Valentine’s Day has, indeed come a long, long way from its rather gory beginnings.