St. Valentine
How did this fourth century martyr become associated
with romantic love?
By Matthew A. C. Newsome ©2000, 2003
St. Valentine Trivia: He is the patron saint not only of love and lovers, but also engaged couples, happy marriage, beekeepers, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, plagues, travelers, and young people. He is represented in art by birds; roses; a bishop with a crippled or epileptic child at his feet; a bishop with a rooster nearby; a bishop refusing to adore an idol; a bishop being beheaded; a priest bearing a sword; a priest holding a sun; and a priest giving sight to a blind girl. |
Ah, Saint Valentine . . . his
name today is synonymous with lovers, red hearts, white lace, and boxes
of chocolates. Surely this early martyr of the Church must have been
a famous lover, a romantic, a wooer of women, right? Why else do
we celebrate his feast day every February 14th with romantic movies, love
letters, and mushy gifts? In reality, very little is known about
our friend Valentine. There have actually been many Saints named Valentine. Most were martyrs of the 3rd and 4th century. Several were abbots or bishops. The most recent was St Valentine Berrio-Ochoa, d. 1861, canonized by our present Pope in 1988. One Valentine was Pope for 40 days in 827! Some of the early martyrs named Valentine have been merged into one and confused, so it is uncertain exactly whose feast became our “Valentine’s Day.” What we seem to be able to say for sure is that the one associated with Feb 14th died in 270, and was a priest in Rome. He assisted St Marius with tending to the sick and wounded Christians who were imprisoned during the reign of Claudius II. Later, he was arrested and asked to renounce his faith. He would not do this and so was sentenced to be beaten with clubs and then beheaded. This execution was done on Feb 14, which is the day we celebrate his Feast. While little is known about the lives of any of the early Valentines, we can speculate a little more about why the name and date became associated with romantic love. Some historians recount the early Roman custom of boys drawing girls’ names on Feb 15th as a celebration to honor the pagan goddess of fertility, Februata Juno. The bishops supposedly “baptized” this holiday by substituting the girl’s names with the names of Saints, Valentine being the most popular name because of the proximity of his feast day. For our modern practice of exchanging cards and gifts and calling your sweetheart “Valentine,” we must look for a more recent origin. In the Middle Ages, in France and England, it seems that February 14th was first associated with lovers because that was the date tradition had it that birds would pair off to mate for the spring. According to the romantic literature of the 14th and 15th centuries, it was common on this day to send a love token or a letter to your desired mate, in imitation of the birds. Since this day also was the feast day of St. Valentine, the practice arose of calling the one you sent the token to your “Valentine.” So it turns out that the cards we exchange have nothing to do with the Saint at all--although I am sure he would be pleased at the expression of love done in his name. Some people today might look at the pagan origins of this holiday and write it off as un-Christian and therefore something we should discourage. You find the same thing being said about Halloween and even Easter and Christmas! But the early Church absorbed many pagan celebrations and made them holy, by turning the purpose of the festivities towards God. And certainly God wants us to love one another. Christ himself, when asked what the greatest commandment is, replied, “ You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-39). As a recently married Catholic, as well as a convert, I notice that the Catholic church today is one of the few Christian bodies that continues to recognize marriage as a sacrament. She has always recognized that the love between a man and a woman is a holy thing. That is why God created us as two separate sexes, why He commanded us to be fruitful, why Christ performed his first miracle at a wedding, and why He describes His relationship to the Church as that between a bride and groom. Remember all of the people you love—not just your spouse or boy- or girlfriend, but your family, your friends, and those less fortunate than yourself. And don’t let February 14th be the only day you recognize that love. For more information on St. Valentine: |
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