We’ve become rather accustomed to the Valentine’s Day tradition, but who exactly was Mr Valentine and why do we commemorate this occasion? Ok so there’s no straight answer to this question but there is an interesting tale behind it...
Legend has it that our friend Mr Valentine was a Roman priest who lived during the third century. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he banned marriage for young men. It seems that Valentine defied the emperor and began performing marriages in secret. Unfortunately when he was finally discovered he was of course punished for his actions and sentenced to death.
Rumour has it that he even sent the first valentine ’s day greeting himself! It is believed that during his time in prison he fell in love with a young girl, most likely to be the jailor’s daughter. Allegedly he wrote her a letter before his death which he signed ‘From your Valentine’, a popular tradition still used today. In the fifth century, February 14th was declared St. Valentine’s Day, when romance began to run riot...
By Kalie Deane
