can anyone tell me the orgin of Valentine?

Question

How valentine came about.

Answer 1

Lol...i just did an essay for school about this...we'll there are many legends..but from my research this is what i found:

The Story behind St. Valentines Day is a fascinating one. Every February 14th is celebrated

as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, beautiful flowers, Valentine's Day cards and

other gifts between couples in love. However, who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate

this holiday? The history of Valentine’s Day – and its patron saint—is shrouded in mystery. But we do

know that February has been a month of romance throughout the ages. St. Valentine’s Day as we

know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was St.

Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today the Catholic Church

recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.


One of the legends says that Valentine was a catholic priest in the 3rd century who lived in Rome.

During his reign the emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldier than men that

were married with families since they were attached to them. In accordance with his presumption he

outlawed all young men from getting married- his potential soldiers. Valentine realizing the injustice

of the decree, defied the emperor Claudius, and continued performing marriages for young lovers in

secret. When his outlawed actions were discovered, Claudius ordered he be put to death.


Other stories suggest that Valentine was killed for attempting to help escape Roman prisons

where they were often beaten and tortured for their faith in God which was outlawed during that

period.


According to a legend Valentine sent the first Valentine greeting himself. While in prison he fell

in love with a young girl-who may have been his jailor’s daughter- who visited him during in prison.

Before his death, it was told that he wrote her a letter which he signed, “From your valentine,” an

expression still used today. Although the truth about the Valentine legends in uncertain, the stories

emphasize him as a heroic, sympathetic, and most importantly a romantic figure. By the middle

ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.



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Some people believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated to honor the anniversary of Valentine’s

death which probably occurred during 270 A.D. However, other people agree that the Christian

church may have decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day as an effort to “Christianize” celebrations of

the pagan Lupercalia festival. One of the traditions during the festival was for the young women to

place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would then each choose a name out of the yearn

and become paired for the year with the women which would normally lead to marriage. This system

for romantic pairing was eventually deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle

Ages, it was believed in England and France that February was the bird’s mating season which added

to the idea that the Middle of Febraury should be Valentine’s day- a day for romance.

Today, the traditions of valentine have not changed so much, but instead have expanded in many

ways. One example is love mates sharing their love for each other by the giving of flowers, gifts,

poetry, cards, and chocolate. It is a well-known day for romance and love and will continue on

throughout years to come.



HOPE IT HELPS...ANNEX

Answer 2

I think several hundred years ago there was a catholic guy named St. Valentine, who was arrested for some reason and would send heart shaped letters to the person he loved from jail. I guess the day was created in his honor, but not many people know that now.

Answer 3

There was a saint call Valentine somewhere in Europe...may be Egypt or Italy. Its his death anniversary. He was in love with a beautiful girl. But the King didn't let them unite and he died in prison.

Answer 4

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.
Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day