The Legend of St. Valentine

Valentine’s Day originated around the 3rd Century. The Roman Emperor Cladius II Gothicus had a difficult time getting soldiers for his army. He mistakenly believes the lack of recruiting is because men did not want to leave their wives and girlfriends. The truth was Cladius II was a very cruel leader and no one wanted to be under his leadership. Anyway, Cladius under his misguided view prohibited all marriages. The only person to challenge Cladius was a Christian priest named Valentine. He performed weddings covertly before soldiers went off to war. Cladius found out and threw Valentine into jail. Valentine was sentenced to death for disobeying the law. While Valentine was awaiting his sentence to be carried out, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. He wrote her a beautiful sonnet expressing his love. According to the legend, she was blind and his expression of love made her see again. His sentence was carried out shortly after sending her the letter. Years later, the Catholic Church granted Valentine sainthood posthumously for his commitment to marriage.