FEBRUARY 14 is Valentine’s Day and it is celebrated as a lovers’ day, with the giving of chocolates, flowers, other gifts and even a heart-pounding poem between couples in love across the world. Do you know the history behind it? 

 

Valentine’s Day is named after St Valentine. But who is this inexplicable saint and why do we celebrate this day?

 

The history of Valentine’s Day is masked as a mystery. But we do know that February is known as the month of love. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become linked with this prehistoric rite? Today, it is recognised that different saints named either Valentine or Valentinus were martyred for this cause. Legend contends that Valentine was a cleric and was a great propagator of love during the third century in Rome. During this period, Emperor Claudius II claimed that single men made better soldiers than those who had wives and families and banned marriage for young men from his crop of budding soldiers. Valentine was the one, who realised the injustice of the ruling, defied Claudius and started performing marriages in secret for young men in love.

 

When Valentine’s secret was discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine sacrificed himself for love, and so this day is celebrated as lover’s day.

 

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ salutation to himself. But it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl when he was in penitentiary. The young girl was supposed to be the daughter of his jailor’s, who use to visit him during his imprisonment. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which was signed by him saying, ‘from your Valentine’, an expression that is still in use in this generation.

 

Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasise his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and most importantly, a romantic figure. It’s no surprise that by the middle ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France and recognised all over the world. But today’s generation has changed the meaning of this magical day.

 

This generation has its own meaning of love and believes in materialistic things for illustrating its love. This generation has turned this special day into a theme party, expensive gifts, flowers and chocolates. But the actual meaning of Valentine’s Day has been lost somewhere. It is the young generation, which has changed the meaning. 

 

After a short survey, we found that there are many youngsters as well as the young at heart who have planned a great Valentine’s Day.

 

Varun, 23, a student dedicating a loving message for his loved one before surprising her with a party, says, “If a day had 36 hours I would spend 12 picking you flowers, if we had 48, life would surely be great, and if it were 72? I’d climb a mountain just to tell the world I love you, but...all we have is 24, which means I’ll keep the message short, and simply spend every precious hour with you, today and forever.”

 

Where as Sharlinder, 63, a businessman dedicating a loving message for his loved one before taking her out for a small dinner, says, “Love is a symbol of eternity.  It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ” The meaning of both messages resembles ‘love’ but the generation gap shows in both the messages with its words and the planning. 

 

The survey doesn’t end here. Many approvals and disapprovals have also come out of it. Some grown ups say Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with poems or chocolates, as the history of mid-winter celebration of love is named after St Valentine, who died a horrible martyr’s death centuries ago.

 

But some say, this day is meant for celebration in respect of the sacrifice, which St Valentine had made for love. No matter who thinks what about this special day, for many years, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated as the day for lovers.