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Valentine’s Day – The Real Story of Saint Valentine’s Day, February 14, 270 AD

  • September 10, 2011 at 10:30 pm

February 14, Saint Valentine’s Day. In ancient times it was said that birds chose their mates on this day. did people really believe this? Or did they hear birds’ mating calls after the long winter days and decide to do something about finding themselves partners? That seems more likely.

Saint Valentine lived in the days before Valentine cards. he was a priest who lived in Rome during the rule of Claudius II. One story relates that the emperor was frustrated that there were too few soldiers for his wars. Married men did not want to leave their families, so he banned marriage ceremonies. when he discovered that Valentine had been secretly joining couples in matrimony, the priest was cast into a dungeon, where he died. another story says that Claudius punished Valentine for helping Christian martyrs. he was beaten and beheaded on February 14, 270 AD, and lies buried in the church of St. Praxedes.

Saint Valentine’s pain is gone, but his sacrifice is commemorated in ways that would surprise him. on Valentine’s Day in 1996 the Toronto Globe & Mail described a relatively new form of romance. A few weeks earlier, John Goydan of Bridgewater, new Jersey, sued his wife, Diane, for divorce on the grounds that she had committed adultery — even though her only meetings with her alleged sex partner were on a computer screen. And on this day in 2001, extremist Hindus in India attacked flower stands selling roses. In China, card shops were ransacked. The latest trend: sarcastic Valentine cards that celebrate VD — Valentine’s Day. Despite all this, Saint Valentine would have been pleased that now on Valentine’s Day love is celebrated rather than punished, as he had been so cruelly punished on February 14, 270 AD.

Valentine’s Day – The Real Story of Saint Valentine’s Day, February 14, 270 AD

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