Each February candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones all across the world and all in the name of Saint Valentine. Who is this saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day and its patron saint is clouded in mystery but contains elements of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition.

Valentine's Day may have had its origins in the Roman festival Lupercalia, observed on February 15. The celebration observed the coming of spring in the Roman calendar and was intended to ensure fertility of flocks, fields and people. This festival involved young Romans sending handwritten greetings of affection to women they admired.

In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius outlawed the pagan festival and intended to replace it with a more "morally suitable" celebration, and chose Saint Valentine as the patron saint of the festival.

The legends of Saint Valentine vary. One legend places Valentine as a third century Roman priest who was beheaded for defying Emperor Claudius II by performing the sacrament of marriage in secret. The emperor had issued a decree outlawing the marriage of young single men during times of war because he felt single men made better soldiers than those emotionally tied to a wife and family.

Other stories suggest that Valentine was killed because he helped Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were beaten and tortured and for harboring them from persecution.

Another legend tells of Valentine actually sending the first "valentine" himself while in prison. It seems that while he was imprisoned, Valentine fell in love with a young girl, who may have been the jailer's daughter, and before his death he sent her a letter signed "From Your Valentine," an expression still used today.

The true history of Saint Valentine is not as important as what he represents. We do not celebrate Saint Valentine the man on St. Valentine's Day, but rather what he stood for throughout his life. His memory shines through in the dark days of Christian persecution and through the triumph of love above all else.

On this February 14th let's not focus on the technicalities and material aspects of Saint Valentine's Day. Rather, think of what Saint Valentine would have us do on his day if he were here with us still. Tell your loved ones you appreciate and care for them and find a way to brighten someone on that day through an act of kindness or a simple word of encouragement.

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