Valentine

Valentine

Every year, you celebrate Valentine's Day. But do you know about Saint Valentine, after whom this beautiful festival is named?

Valentine was a bishop who lived long long ago in Rome. Rome, at that time, was ruled by the mighty emperor Claudius II. Claudius II was a powerful man and he had thousands of soldiers under him who were loyal to him. Those were the last days of the Roman Empire and there were always some conflict going on, whether outside or inside the empire. More and more soldiers were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. The emperor wanted to control his empire and so, he always used to send his soldiers in some battle or another to defeat other countries.

So the soldiers had to stay away from home all the time. Now, a soldier's duty is to fight for his country and obey the orders of the emperor. But they were human too. They all had homes and wives whom they loved very much. They didn't want to stay away from their wives and fight all the time. Slowly, they began to lose interest in fighting and once they came after a battle, they never wanted to leave their home and their wives.

The emperor got very angry. He felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. He believed it made the men weak. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage. He declared that from then on it would be illegal for all soldiers to marry.

Valentine realized that the emperor had passed an unjust order. He understood the pity of the soldiers and also of all young lovers who longed to marry the women they loved, but could not do so because of the royal order. He met them in a secret place, and got them married himself. He defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. But Claudius soon learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.

While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. It is said that Valentine, by praying to God, succeeded in restoring the sight of Asterius' daughter.

The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to change his mind, and also convert him to the Roman gods. He said that if he gave up Christianity and converted to the Roman religion, he would not kill him. Also, he would have to stop conducting marriages. But Valentine refused to obey the emperor and do either of what he was asked to do. So, on February 14, 270 AD, Valentine was put to death by Claudius II.

Just before dying, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor Asterius, and wrote a farewell message to Asterius' daughter. Then he signed the message as "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after. A popular legend has it that Valentine, while in prison, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. However, not many believe this legend.

But Valentine lived on in the hearts of all lovers of Rome. They declared him as a saint. They dedicated February 14, the date of Valentine's death, in the honour of Saint Valentine. Every year, they began to hold a festival on this date and they named this day as "Valentine's Day".