Whenever lovers thought about marriage they would seek Valentine and then later the couple would meet in a secret location where they would get married. But you and I both know secrets have a way of coming out sooner or later. Sure enough Claudius found out about it and had Valentine arrested.
While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that Valentine had some abilities, one of which was the power to heal people. Asterius had a daughter that was blind and because of the mighty gift that God had given him, Asterius requested him to restore the sight of his daughter. According to the story Valentine succeeded in helping Asterius’ daughter, thus restoring her sight. I’m telling you it’s amazing how strong the power of God is!!
Claudius met with Valentine, and was impressed by Valentine’s determination and faith. But Claudius wanted Valentine to agree with him on the ban of marriage. He also tried to convert him to the Roman Gods. Valentine refused this and even tried to convert Claudius to Christianity, knowing the consequences could be fatal. This angered Claudius and he sent an order to have him executed.
Asterius’ daughter and Valentine became close friends and before he was executed he wrote her a farewell message signed “From Your Valentine”, a phrase that is still used today. Valentine is believed to have been executed on the day of February 14, 270 A.D.
It wasn’t till the end of the 5th century that Luperci was outlawed and deemed unchristian. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius converted The Roman festival Lupercalia to a Christian holiday and the day of observance was pushed back a day earlier to February 14th. Celebrating the Roman martyr Saint Valentine who lived in the 3rd century.
It wasn’t until the 14th century that Valentine’s Day would be known as the day of love. In France and England it was Commonly believed that the bird-mating season started on February 14, which lead to the idea that the middle of Valentine’s Day should be a day for romance.
In Roman mythology Cupid has always played a role in romance and love. This mischievous, winged child armed with nothing but a bow and arrows would shoot both God’s and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid is one of the most iconic symbols in Valentine’s Day and still is to this day.
Over the centuries this holiday has grown and evolved in popularity. In the 18th century it was common for lovers to show their affection through hand made Valentine cards in England. These hand made Valentines Day cards were very elegant, consisting of lace ribbons and featuring images of Cupids and heart shapes, which began to be created on this day. It wasn’t until the 1840s when Valentine’s Day greeting cards began to be commercially produced in the U.S. The first American to create the Valentine greeting cards was Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass. She made highly detailed creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap". The tradition didn’t really catch on in the United States till she started producing Valentine’s Day cards on a massive scale. Howland was known as the Mother of the Valentine. Today Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest holidays in the United States. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.
As you can see there are a lot of twists and turns in how Valentine’s Day came to be a holiday. Now from a Christian point of view I have some concerns with this holiday. Valentine’s Day still has some fragments of paganism within a believed to be Christian holiday.
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