"you make me smile with my heart"
FLASHBACK (probably) mid~february 270 AD
version one: emperor claudius II decides that single men make better soldiers than men with wives and families. he outlaws marriage for young men. a priest, named valentine, defies the emperor and performs secret marriages. when he is discovered, claudius orders that valentine be put to death.
version two: valentine is imprisoned for helping christians escape roman prisons, where they are beaten and tortured.
either way, legend says, valentine falls in love with a young girl, while in prison, and sends her the first "valentine" greeting. before his death, he writes the girl a letter and signs it "from your valentine".
FLASH FORWARD: 5th century
pope gelasius outlaws the pagan celebration of lupercalia. lupercalia is a fertility festival dedicated to the roman god of agriculture, faunus, that occurs in the middle of february. the pope declares february 14th st. valentine's day, in an effort to take the focus off lupercalia.
FLASH FORWARD: the middle ages
valentine's reputation as a sympathetic, heroic, and romantic man makes him one of the most popular saints in france and england. valentine's greetings become popular (the oldest greeting, still in existence, is written in 1415, by charles, duke of orleans).
FLASH FORWARD today:
today, americans send, approximately, 1 billion valentine's cards making it the second biggest card sending holiday of the year.
the more you know ;)
