What Is The Origin Of Valentine’s Day?

There are many different stories as for the origin of Valentine’s day.  Many of them  are pure fables,  but one that I have researched and found to be pretty consistent and to be true is this:

As many other actual events in our society, Valentine’s day has it’s origin in The Roman Empire, which at one time was the “center of the world”.  Claudius II was a cruel emperor who led many bloody wars, but was having a very hard time in getting soldiers to fight his wars. He believed that the reason for such an unwillingness for fighting for him was that soldiers didn’t want to go to war because of  their wives (not willing to leave them).  As a result Claudius ordered for all marriages and engagement to be canceled in Rome.

A Christian priest named Valentine took side with the people wanting to be married and married them in secret, regardless of the emperor’s order.  Even though he knew of the danger of going against the emperor’s order would mean for him.  In time, the emperor Claudius did found out about the priest marring people behind his back, and Valentine who is often referred now as Saint Valentine because of his sacrifice for the people, was sent to prison for the rest of his life and died their, murdered by order of  Claudius on February 14 270.

It was not until few centuries later that the festival of fertility and later our present Valentine’s day took effect.