First Lutheran Church

Valentine’s Day is, for most, a holiday centered around romantic love and seductive lust coupled with a bit of gift giving. However, it was not always this way. For about 900 years (400AD-1300AD) Valentine’s Day was centered around the man Saint Valentine. Who is St. Valentine? Good question. According to the sources we have Saint Valentine was one of our Church Fathers who was martyred in Rome around 269AD. While accounts and myths surrounding St. Valentine differ, there is consistency of the accounts surrounding his death. He was arrested by the Romans, surprisingly found favor with his own jailers (much like Paul), became acquaintances with the emperor Claudius Gothicus, then was executed for trying to convert the emperor to Christianity. Several other myths surround St. Valentine. One being the reason he was arrested was marrying Roman couples in secret so the men could avoid military service and stay home with their families, although he easily could have been arrested for just preaching the Gospel. Another myth is that St. Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer and cured her of her blindness, falling in love with her over time, and on the eve of his execution he wrote a letter to her and signed it “from your valentine,” which is said to be the origin of the written valentines we have today. Regardless of embellishment, the fact stands that a Christian clergyman by the name of Valentine died for the faith in Rome around 269AD on February 14th. When he was canonized into sainthood in the 400s the church observed his feast day for the next 900 years celebrating his sacrifice for the Gospel.

 

It wasn’t until the 1300s that romantic love started being connected with Saint Valentine and February 14th. Perhaps, this wasn’t the best decision given was the holiday has become now. We have forgotten so much of the origins of the holiday that people don’t seem to realize this used be a martyr’s feast day and instead make it solely about “love.” Is there anything wrong with romance? Of course not. However, the Church’s memory should be long and unwavering. We should not forget our fathers and mothers who have come before us, especially those who gave their life for the faith and the Gospel. So, as you celebrate this Valentine’s Day, I hope you take a moment to reflect on its true origins. I’ll leave you with this from John, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”