Was Pope Gelasius successful? Did he change the Roman tradition? For a time his plan may have worked. It was a gesture by the Early Church to Christianize a pagan tradition. They certainly didn’t believe that true love came from Cupid’s little arrows! So in 495, Pope Gelasius decided to declare February 14 as Saint* Valentine’s Day to replace the pagan festival of Lupercalia on February 15 and honor a martyr named Valentine. Christians didn’t believe in the fanciful Roman gods and goddesses. It was thought that a shot from one of Cupid’s arrows made a person fall in love! To this day, he is depicted as a chubby little boy with golden wings, usually holding a bow and arrow.Īs you can imagine, it was difficult for the Christians living in the Roman Empire to deal with all the pagan festivals like Lupercalia that surrounded them. According to Roman mythology, Cupid was the god of desire and the son of Venus, the alleged goddess of love. By tradition, Cupid was almost always involved. Some of these couples would marry as a result of the courtship. The couple would spend time together and exchange gifts. They also honored Pan-believed to be the god of nature.ĭuring the festival of Lupercalia, young men and women would draw names out of a box for a partner. On that feast day, which was called Lupercalia, the Romans honored Juno, the supposed goddess of women and marriage. Well, apart from folklore, very little! But February 15th happened to be the date of an ancient Roman festival of love. Now, you may still be wondering what any of these men named Valentine had to do with the modern tradition of pink hearts and chocolate. Valentine because these tales have been greatly romanticized and blended together. (Claudius supposedly banned weddings so that more young men would serve as Roman soldiers.) Others say that while someone named Valentine was in prison, he healed the jailer’s daughter of blindness and left her a note signed,“Your Valentine.” We may never know the truth behind these stories, or have a definite answer to who was St. Some say one man named Valentine was martyred because he married Christians in secret at a time when Claudius II banned weddings. Valentine abound in folklore, making it nearly impossible to know fact from fiction. Valentine?”īesides the confusion about Valentine’s true identity, fascinating legends about St. (Of course, Valentine is still recognized, but his name appears on a different calendar of people honored by the Roman Catholic Church.) So are you starting to see why I may not be able to give you a straight answer to the question, “Who was St. The Roman Catholic Church of today has been so confused over the matter that in 1969 they removed Valentine from the General Roman Calendar. The other Valentine may have lived in a Roman province in Africa. Valentine?” (It’s likely their stories have been confused over time!) Removed from a Calendar?Īs it stands, one of the other men named Valentine may have been a bishop in the town of Interamna (which is now Terni, Italy). If so, it is more difficult to answer with certainty, “Who was St. You see, though we know a priest named Valentine was beheaded in Rome on February 14, some think that two other Christian men named Valentine might have been martyred near the same time. I wish I could tell you more about this priest named Valentine, but historians are not sure we have the whole story straight. Obviously, this day in February connects Valentine to the holiday that bears his name. The date of his death was February 14, around A.D. There was at least one Valentine who was a priest-and was tragically martyred for his Christian faith under the Roman emperor Claudius II. Valentine?” Or, how did the traditions around his name get started? Spoiler alert: we’re not 100% sure!ĭozens of men named Valentine (or Valentinus in Latin) lived between the second and eighth centuries.
But have you ever wondered to yourself, “Who was St. It’s a beautiful way to express affection to loved ones with cards, flowers, and candy. In our world today, it’s common practice for men, women, boys, and girls to exchange valentines on February 14.
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