Valentine's Day

By Jackson Dias

On 14th February, as everybody knows, we celebrate the feast of Saint Valentine. Yes, but which Saint Valentine? There’s not just one, but four of them, three Italians and one Spaniard. As for which of the four is supposed to be the patron saint of people who are in love, it’s a mystery. But the biggest mystery is why any saint, however romantic or sentimental, should protect young and not-so-young lovers.

The most famous saint Valentine was from Terni, in the Umbra region of Italy. He was Bishop of the city, but on 14th Feb. 273 AD, he was executed (by decapitation) in Rome during the Emperor Aurelian’s persecution of Christians. The second saint, Valentine also had his head cut off, again in Rome and again on 14th Feb but this time no one is sure of the year. We only know that this Valentine was a priest and that his execution was ordered by the Emperor Claudius around the year 350 AD. The third was buried in a small village named after him, in the province of Salerno, Italy. Each year on 14th Feb the local population goes to the village church to pay homage to his relics; chestnuts are traditionally eaten after the Mass.

The arrival of a Spanish Saint Valentine has complicated things still further. Some years ago in Madrid, in the church of Saint Anthony (wouldn’t you know it) the sarcophagus of the fourth Saint Valentine was discovered.

But which of these is the true patron saint of lovers? Many people are convinced it is the second the priest who lived in Rome. The reason? According to local legend after he was condemned to death, on the days immediately before his execution, Valentine helped another condemned man to write a beautiful love letter to the girl with whom he had fallen in love as a young man. She was none other than the daughter of the executioner. That is why it is probably this Saint Valentine who is remembered everywhere on 14th February.

The townspeople of Terni insist that it is their Valentine who is the true hero of lovers and to support their argument they tell a story of their own. Once upon a time there was a young Christian girl named Serapia who was in love with a pagan soldier called Sabino. One day the young girl fell seriously ill from a highly contagious disease. The soldier begged Bishop Valentine never to let him he separated from his beloved. And so it was the two young lovers died together in a tender embrace.

But there is another less dramatic legend. One day, the Bishop of Terni was sitting in his church when he heard two young fiancés argued furiously outside. He went outside and gave each of them a red rose. As you may have guessed, they were very moved and quickly made up their quarrel.

It may well be, though, that the feast of lovers is linked more to the day than to the saint. In ancient Rome, 14th February was the day of the celebration of the symbolic rites known as the “Lupercali”. On that day, young men would beat the young women of the city with their belts, which had been consecrated for the purpose – it seems that this was some sort of fertility rite. Other people suggest that 14th February was chosen because the local seer’s study of the mating habits of sparrows suggested that this might be a fortunate day of courting couples. In any case, the custom of sending love notes or gifts on Saint Valentine’s Day probably originated in the 15th century, again from the belief that date marked the beginning of the mating season for birds.

Whatever the truth may be, 14th February is now known as the feast day of those in love. It is no longer acknowledged or celebrated as a memorial or feast day in the liturgical calendar, but it is an extremely commercial event. People give flowers, they listen to romantic music, and they may write love letters or even send proposals. Often, they take their loved ones out to dinner. But very few of them go to church with the person they love to thank the lord for a gift that should never be taken from granted, the gift of love for a person with whom they share, or want to share their lives.