Saintly... Valentine's Day

February 14th isn't just about romance! It's got a history of martyrs, fertility and skulls!

February 14. It’s a day of absolute terror for those who suffer from Amoraphobia (fear of love), Anlophobia, (fear of flowers), or indeed Obligaphobia (fear of commitment). While they’re hiding under something somewhere, the rest of us know it as St. Valentine’s Day, which after Christmas, is the biggest cards/ flowers/chocolate day of the year. Hallmark-Cadbury-Interflora Day, anyone? The Vatican struck off St. Valentine’s Day as an official holiday in 1969, due to the fact that not much was actually known about Valentine himself. Despite that, the tradition persisted and is still going strong.

And here are a few other bits you may not have known about this day dedicated to getting the ride, sorry, dedicated to love:

There were as many as three Saint Valentines, all of whom lived at various times during the third century AD, and, as was the style at the time, were martyred for refusing to give up their Christianity. Not exactly romantic, huh?

During his imprisonment one of these three Valentines fell in love with his jailer’s blind daughter and managed to restore her sight before he had his head removed. But, according to legend, he left a little note for her, signed off “From Your Valentine”. See where this is heading?

The first official Valentines Day was in 496 AD. The Emperor decided to try and curb the Pagan’s tendency to really get involved with their ‘fertility festival’, by making it a Church Feast Day. And it worked. Nothing much happened until the Middle Ages, when the whole idea of chivalry and romance became popular.

The earliest surviving valentine dates from 1415. It is a poem written by The Duke of Orleans to his wife. At the time, the Duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt, so he probably didn’t have much else for doing. He spent the next 25 years there, presumably refining and improving his poetry. The wife died in the meantime; whether or not it was linked to his poems, we don’t know. Well, it’s the thought that counts, right?

In 1836, relics of St. Valentine of Rome were donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin. His skull is still on display somewhere in there, having being giving a place of prominence following renovations during the 1960s. Very romantic; “Hey Honey, wanna go see a skull?”

But, Valentine’s Day as we know it really started in the 19th Century. The Victorians, who were extremely fond of their Christmas cards, both commercial and hand-made, soon figured that the same principle could be applied to Valentines Day, and so the tradition of sending cards began. As well as the pretty, soppy cards, for a while so-called ‘Penny Dreadfuls’ were available. These were quite the opposite, insulting, far from flattering, and usually sent anonymously, for some reason.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Americans really caught onto the idea (of gifts and flowers, nice cards), and the whole thing took shape to become what it is today. So now, every February across the country, chocolates, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.

By: Andrew Gibbons